Implementation Failure of Fund Allocation and Management Policy for Project Preparation and Readiness: An Analytical Appraisal

Abstract

Economic Relations Division (ERD) formulated “Fund Allocation and Management policy for Project
Preparation and Readiness” on 6 March 2017 to provide financial support for feasibility study and
land acquisition at the project preparation stage of various Ministries/Divisions of the Government of
Bangladesh. Despite such efforts, ERD did not get any response from relevant Ministries/Divisions to
implement the policy. The paper critically examines the causes behind the implementation failure of
the policy. The study found that officials of the project implementing Ministries/Divisions were not
well informed about the policy in particular. Moreover, the Ministries/Divisions, which have several
initial roles to play in order to bring implementation process on board, have hardly done anything to
prove that the existing bureaucratic set up is reluctant to take proactive initiatives to implement new
policies unless they are somehow forced by the external environment. Besides, there exists a similar
kind of fund, allocated in favour of the Programming Divisions of the Ministry of Planning, which
allow the project implementing Ministries/Divisions to get financial allocation for a feasibility study
at the project preparation stage. This similar kind of fund may decrease the importance of the ERD
formulated fund for project readiness. Similarly, absence of allocation in the right place is also one of
the root causes for implementation failure. Considering the findings, among others, recommendations
include holding of workshops for further dissemination of the policy documents and the scope and
responsibilities of each Ministry/Division.