Dhaka: Of the $60 billion invested in the Annual Development Programme (ADP) and development projects over the past 15 years, a staggering $14-24 billion (1.61-2.80 lakh crore BDT) has been lost to political extortion, bribery, and inflated budgets, as detailed by the White Paper report on Bangladesh's economy. The revelation was made today by Dr. Debapriya Bhattacharya, the head of the White Paper Committee and a Distinguished Fellow of the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), during a formal unveiling of the report at the NEC conference room in the city's Sher-e-Bangla Nagar area, with other committee members in attendance. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the report highlighted that corruption in large-scale public projects has led to an average cost escalation of 70 percent, along with delays exceeding five years. The misappropriation of funds during land acquisitions and the appointment of patronized project directors have strained resources further, undermining the potential benefits of infrastru cture and social investments. The report also emphasized that systemic tax evasion, the misuse of exemptions, and poorly managed public finances have deprived the state of crucial resources, thereby stalling development. Between 2009 and 2023, illicit financial outflows averaged USD 16 billion annually, surpassing the combined value of net foreign aid and FDI inflows. The report suggested that halving tax exemptions could potentially double education funding and triple health allocations, thereby underscoring the significant fiscal opportunities lost due to corruption. Manipulated domestic production figures and understated demand for key commodities such as rice, edible oil, and wheat have destabilized markets, exacerbated by erratic and politically influenced procurement policies that favor powerful business groups while causing consumer hardships. The report further noted the absence of robust regular stock monitoring, which has compounded these market distortions. In the banking and financial sectors, p olitically influenced lending practices have deepened the banking crisis, with distressed assets (as of June 2024) equating to the cost of constructing 14 Dhaka Metro systems or 24 Padma Bridges. Persistent loan defaults and high-profile scams have eroded financial stability and diverted capital from productive sectors. Over the last decade, BDT 13.4 lakh crore (BDT 1.34 trillion) has been funneled through hundi transactions by recruiting agencies for visa purchases, an amount four times the cost of constructing Dhaka MRT 06 (Uttara-Motijheel). Syndicates and exploitative recruitment practices have deprived migrant workers of equitable access to employment and diminished remittance contributions to the economy. In terms of social safety nets, misallocations within social protection programs have left millions vulnerable, with 73 percent of beneficiaries classified as non-poor by 2022, up from 66 percent in 2016. Over 20 million individuals remain just two days of lost work away from falling into poverty, hig hlighting systemic inequities exacerbated by corruption. In the environmental sector, corruption within climate adaptation funding has worsened environmental degradation. The politically patronized mismanagement of climate resources has derailed sustainability initiatives, posing a threat to long-term resilience against climate-induced risks.
