There has been widespread corruption surrounding government investment during the 15 years of the Awami League. About seven lakh crore taka was spent on the goods and services purchased for government activities. Of this money, about 1 lakh 61 thousand crore to 2 lakh 80 thousand crore taka went as bribes. These bribes were taken by political leaders, bureaucrats and their associates. Such information has emerged in the White Paper Committee report.
In the government sector, money was mainly spent on the construction of roads, bridges, power infrastructure, hospitals, educational institutions, etc.
The White Paper Committee report says that out of the bribe money, 77 thousand to 98 thousand crore taka went to bureaucrats. And 70 thousand to 1 lakh 40 thousand crore taka went to political leaders and their associates. The rest of the money went to organized groups associated with them. Most of the bribes were given in cash or as gifts of some kind.
The report says that the contractors have passed this money on to the family members of politicians and bureaucrats, most of whom live abroad. A portion of the bribe money has been invested in the housing sector, fisheries, agriculture and transport sectors. The report mentions that the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore have often faced criticism as safe destinations for bribe money.
The major projects implemented in the country in the last 15 years have been financed mainly from government funds. In addition to development cooperation agencies, there were also bilateral and multilateral loans. Due to this type of project, according to the Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance, the accumulated debt is now $155 billion, which is more than Tk 17 lakh crore in local currency. The amount of debt per capita is now Tk 98,554 crore.
The report says that when the proposal to pass the project is raised in the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), the processes preceding it lack professionalism. Many projects have been undertaken without proper long-term impact assessment. Again, some projects were taken up just to ‘show people’.
