Bangladesh - Independent Evaluation Group - World Bank

2001. The procurement reforms were deepened during the Caretaker Government, and have
been mainly preserved under the current regime.
3.19 The government’s (2005) commitment to a Poverty Reduction Strategy highlighted
the need for improved revenue management to increase funding for essential investment in
improved services and infrastructure. The strategy also reiterated the commitment of
previous assessments by the government and the Bank (in 1996 and 2001) that the
modernization of the civil service was crucial for the success of reforms in financial
management, procurement, and improvements in service delivery.
3.20 Support to local government was highly relevant. The provision of block grants, and
support for annual audits, open budget consultations, and citizen satisfaction surveys under
the Local Government Support Project all addressed key constraints to meaningful local
governance.
3.21 Support to non-executive accountability institutions and civil society organizations
was moderately relevant in addressing binding constraints to the effectiveness of public
institutions and the investment climate. Support was built on a tradition of strong citizen
participation in public affairs. There has been modest support to civil society, media, and
Parliament through the World Bank Institute’s Affiliated Network for Social
Accountability—South Asia Region (ANSA). There has also been some support to the Anti-
Corruption Commission. Bank teams in other weak integrity environments have previously
raised doubts about creating such an institution, noting the risks that the ACC will only
selectively investigate corrupt acts based on partisan factors, and that even a sound
investigation will not be supported by other parts of the system (prosecution, trial,
punishment; see for example World Bank 2004a). These challenges were encountered in
Bangladesh, as will be discussed below.
3.22 Basic Service Delivery. The Bank has supported one major roads project in
Bangladesh, the Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP; P071435, FY03, $255 million)
since 2007. A second project, the Padma Bridge Project ($1.2 billion), was approved in
February 2011. The RTIP design included three related elements with GAC measures: a
public procurement program with the RHD; the creation of an institutional development plan;
and the preparation and implementation of a financial management project. The project has
worked with both the RHD and LGED.
3.23 The RTIP had a component to enhance the capacity of relevant government
institutions to better manage rural transport infrastructure. It used and sought to strengthen
country systems through procurement. The civil works under this component of the project
had been procured under both international and national competitive bidding procedures,
implemented in multiple phases. An Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) carried out in 2007
rated the procurement risks in RHD as high, and the report found the project implementation
and client engagement unsatisfactory (World Bank 2007d). The release of this report
coincided with the release of the outcomes of four investigations with RHD by the Bank’s
Institutional Integrity Department (INT) and a decision by DfID to withdraw funds
supporting the roads sector in Bangladesh. Given the ORA results, Bank management
decided to disengage from this component of the RTIP and to stop engagement with RHD.
17