IN truth, those who are aware, as most people are, of the sluggish historical trend of ADP implementation in the first quarter of a financial year would hardly be surprised by the news. That only ten percent of the ADP got implemented between July and September, 2009 does, however, make us sit up and take note. If only because of (a) the fanfare and aplomb with which the AL government had announced an all-time ambitious ADP for fiscal 2009-10 amounting to Tk 30,000 crore; and (b) the news of under-performance coming from those who are perceived to have had a role in implementing the ADP such as the finance ministry and the NBR.

Let's put our criticism in the right perspective. Three factors must have weighed with the AL-led Mohajote government behind s announcement of an ambitious ADP for fiscal 2009-10. First, as an elected government it bore the responsibility of making up for the dismal ADP performances in two successive years of caretaker rule. Secondly, it had to deliver on the electoral pledges that won it a victory over its rival; last but not least, it had to raise the level of public spending in development sectors in contrast to revenue expenditure. The avowed aim was to bolster demand in the market and create employment opportunities in a bid to cushion off the effects of global economic meltdown.

On all these three counts, what one is reminded of is an adage -- 'well-begun is half-done'. Since the beginning has been slow, much out of sync with what the planning minister had stated about the ministries taking up work early in the day with arrangements for timely release of project funds, it is now incumbent on all ministries, lead and line, to make up for the lost time through tackling structural deficiencies. Not only the financial targets but also the physical targets will have to be met to their closest approximations so that the economy is revved up with internal resource mobilisation, timely fund disbursements and investment. They have only to match a BIDS research result to the effect that at least 50 percent improvement in the capacity of project implementation machinery could only make a definite difference in the rate of project execution.