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Padma Bridge, Railwaygate

Analysts see cautious approach by donors

But no direct impact on fund flow

Sohel Parvez and Md Fazlur Rahman
The corruption allegations against the railways and communications ministries would make development partners more cautious in disbursing funds and put the government on the back foot at the negotiation table, analysts say.
However, they believe that the allegations against the two ministries would not disrupt the flow of donors' funds into the country.
Their comments came days after rail-
ways minister's assistant personal secretary Omar Faruq Talukder and two high-ranking railway officials were reportedly going to the minister's home with Tk 70 lakh when the driver of the car turned in the money and them over to Border Guard Bangladesh personnel at the BGB Pilkhana Headquarters, near Jhigatola in the capital.
The comments also precede the World Bank's suspension of funds for the Padma bridge project seven months ago in connection with irregularities in the appointment of the consultant for the project. The project is under the communications ministry-
Former caretaker government adviser Akbar Ali Khan said he does not think that the incident of Tk 70 lakh would directly affect the flow of donors' money into Bangladesh. He said the donors would be more cautious as "we have seen in the case of Padma bridge".
"Their caution in the case of projects has been on for a decade. In general, there will be no impact," he said.
Akbar Ali said the corruption problem was not new in Bangladesh and the donors were aware of it.
"The answer is simple: those who commit corruption do not face punishment in Bangladesh. Until we
bring them to book, this type of incidents will continue..."
He said the AntiCorruption Commission must be strengthened to fight grafts. "I also think that the parliamentary standing committees should take a tough stance on the issue."
Ahsan H Mansur, executive director of Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, echoed Akbar Ali.
"What will happen is that donors will be tougher in scrutinising projects during disbursement of funds to ensure proper utilisation."
The expert, however, said tougher scrutiny was not bad for the country. "There is no need to think that it is bad. But it will be bad for the nation if they do not impose control given the situation we are going through."
Mansur said the incident concerning Tk 70 lakh was a serious blow to the image of
the government. It should now take a moral stance on the issue.
He said it was good that the ACC was planning to launch an investigation into the incident.
Economist MA Taslim said it was a moral crisis of the government.
The government is doing nothing even though evidence of corruption exists, he alleged.
The alleged corruption by the railway minister, which triggered uproar, is feeding the allegation brought by the World Bank about the Padma bridge project, he added.
"Many could have had confusion that the World Bank suspended the financing for the bridge without adequate evidence of corruption. That confusion will now disappear."
Taslim, a former chief executive officer of Bangladesh Foreign Trade Institute, said the corruption allegation was weakening the government's negotiation capacity. "It will now be difficult to convince people that corrupt practices do not exist in Bangladesh."
He said the government would have to bear some sacrifices and take steps
against corrupt people.
Economist Hossain Zillur Rahman said the incidents had dented the government's image. "There is a crisis of confidence," he said. "It is more [serious] than fund crisis."
He said there was a clear evidence of corruption, which became evident after the Monday's incident when the BGB men detained the four withTk 70 lakh.
"In the past, we have seen procrastination in the name of investigation. Much was told on probe but nothing happened," said Zillur. "We want to see something different this time."