Bangladesh - Independent Evaluation Group - World Bank

demand for good governance. However, the CPS lacks contextually sensitive analytics that
could answer questions such as: Why should political commitment evidenced over the last
few years in areas such as PFM and procurement continue over the next few years Might
this strategy run into greater resistance to change Why is there an opportunity for scaling up
demand for good governance from civil society when it has not been a prominent feature in
Bangladesh to date Why has there been no response to the Integrity unit’s (INT’s) referrals
of the findings of its investigations on corruption which implicated government officials
Sector-Level Relevance
3.7 Public Sector Reform. Core public sector reform—comprising PFM and
procurement—served as key GAC entry points for the Bank’s engagement in Bangladesh
between 2004 and 2010. The PFM work built on 15 years of engagement, starting with the
work beginning in 1990 of the Committee on Reforms in Budgeting and Expenditure
Control, led by the Ministry of Finance, to address weaknesses in PFM. Building on its
recommendations, and the government’s need for budgetary support, the Public Resource
Management Adjustment Credit was approved in FY92, had as its goal institutional
strengthening for budgeting, accounting, investment programming, tax administration
(including introduction of value-added tax, or VAT), and debt management. This work was
expanded through DfID technical assistance beginning in 1996 and sustained to the present.
3.8 The Bank provided Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs) in FY91, FY96, FY97
(update), FY02 (joint with ADB), FY03, and FY10. Initially focusing on allocation of
resources consistent with policy priorities and improving fiscal discipline, each subsequent
PER provided more detailed institutional analysis and recommendations. However, the FY03
PER pointed out 10 that most of the key institutional recommendations of the previous PER
and update had not been adopted, including measures needed to: (i) restore fiscal
sustainability; (ii) adopt a strategic medium-term framework; (iii) strengthen participation by
line ministries in budget preparation; (iv) ensure better estimation of project-related operating
and maintenance costs, and their inclusion in the revenue budget, and; (v) strengthening
public procurement practices, budget accounting, budget oversight, monitoring, and
evaluation.
3.9 Building on a 15-year foundation of analytical work and technical support, the
Economic Management Technical Assistance Program (EMTAP; FY04, $20 million)
supported improvements in tax and customs administration through organizational
improvement, use of information and communications technology, and improved training
and citizen awareness. Public financial management diagnostics were improved through
publication of Bangladesh’s PFM indicators based on the PEFA framework. 11 Bank support
has complemented support from DfID and other development partners, and has helped to lay
the groundwork in 2006 for the government to adopt its public finance management vision
and a medium-term rolling action plan with these objectives:
10 FY03 PER: 25.
11 For example, World Bank, 2006b: Attachment 4; World Bank 2010: Appendix 5.
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