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Highway to corruption

Massive irregularities, embezzlement in foreign-funded projects at RHD, JMB

Rafiq Hasan
The audit office has detected massive irregularities and misappropriation of funds in 13 foreign-funded projects implemented at a cost of Tk 182.97crore in the 19992000 fiscal.
Eleven of the projects were implemented by the Roads and Highways Department (RHD) and two by Jamuna Multi-Purpose
Bridge Authority.
The irregularities include awarding contracts at higher rates than quoted in tenders, signing contracts with consulting firms without floating tenders, spending money beyond loan agreement and pocketing local currency gains due to inflation after conversion of foreign exchange.
The anomalies also include
paying for price adjustment beyond agreement, not realising money paid beyond the contract amount, not providing documents against releasing funds and spending extra money as travel allowances.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) uncovered the irregularities in the projects bankrolled mainly by the International Development
Agency (IDA), the lending wing of the World Bank, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The authorities concerned did not respond to the request of the audit office for submitting urgent documents against the expenditure of Tk 79.99 crore under the Third Road Rehabilitation and Maintenance Project, funded by the IDA. In many cases, the RHD ignored audit objections and requests of the CAG's office for coming up with relevant documents, officials said.
Although honouring the CAG's suggestions is a constitutional obligation, many government offices frequently disregard it, said an official.
"When they fail to come up with relevant bills and vouchers we think the funds in question have been siphoned-off," he said, requesting anonymity.
The RHD also could not produce any documents like allocation schedules, evaluation papers, administrative approvals and job orders regarding payment of Tk 14.41 crore to three foreign companies in consultancy fees.
The department gave work orders to repair flood devastated roads in Netrakona district involving Tk 53.32 crore to contractors without tender, officials at the CAG's office said.
The audit office found that a number of contractors were given road- and culvert-building assignments without competitive tenders.
The authorities concerned spent Tk 6.21 crore for an access road to Jamuna bridge beyond loan agreement. Besides, they did not deposit Tk 3.53 crore received from conversion of foreign currency.
Under the same project, Tk 7.28 crore was paid to the Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh (CCDB) by project managers in Sirajganj without any voucher.
In another case, the project office gave contract for a job of Tk 18.73 lakh without any open tender.
The audit office also did not find any valid documents against the expenditure of Tk 7.02 lakh.