The amount of unused foreign aid has reached $16 billion, highest in the country's history, raising questions from the lawmakers about the spending ability of the government.
The amount was $13 billion at the beginning of the current fiscal year, Finance Minister AMA Muhith said at a pre-budget discussion with the members of five parliamentary committees yesterday.
“Lawmakers raised questions about it [unused fund] and many of them said it was a shame for the country," Muhith told reporters after the meeting at the planning ministry.
The government could not spend the money at a rate it came in from the development partners. Donors committed $5.1 billion in the last FY, which was the highest in the country's history in a single year, he added.
“Our good performance has turned out to be bad as we could not utilise the foreign assistance we have received.”
Various ministries sometimes blame the donor organisation for the delay in the fund utilisation but it actually happens due to setbacks in project preparation and tender and procurement process, Muhith added.
According to him, the problem lies in the bureaucratic and government structures and bringing changes in these areas is difficult.
Every year the government takes some initiatives for better utilisation of foreign aid but some of them never get implemented, he said.
As part of some fresh initiatives to this end, the development partners, the planning ministry and other ministries concerned and the Economic Relations Division will meet regularly to discuss ways for speedy implementation of big projects.
At the pre-budget discussion, lawmakers also expressed concern over the spiralling prices of essentials and electricity shortages, Muhith said.
Performance of a government depends on three factors -- keeping essential prices stable, ensuring uninterrupted power supply and repairing roads, he quoted the lawmakers.
The meeting also discussed the overall subsidy situation.
Muhith told the meeting that the government would soon introduce automated pricing formula for fuel to reduce subsidy.