Main financier WB issues statement; Muhith terns it totally unjust
The World Bank has once again given the government a clear message that the global lender will not finance the Padma bridge project unless a full and fair investigation is carried out into the corruption allegations in the project.
“The World Bank will proceed with support for the Padma Bridge only if the Anti-corruption Commission launches a full and fair investigation based on evidence of corruption under the project,” Ellen Goldstein, WB country director for Bangladesh, said in a statement yesterday, two days after the WB external panel left Dhaka.
Finance Minister AMA Muhith and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Ghulam Rahman expressed surprise at the WB statement.
The WB external panel left the capital on December 5 following a stalemate in talks with the ACC over the inclusion of ex-communications minister Syed Abul Hossain in the ACC’s draft enquiry report on corruption allegations.
In the statement, Goldstein said, “The World Bank provided extensive information to the ACC to support such an investigation. Following its first visit to Bangladesh, the External Panel of independent anti-corruption experts encouraged the ACC to launch a full and fair investigation based on available evidence and in full accordance with Bangladeshi law.”
“During its second visit to Bangladesh last week, the panel noted several unresolved issues and further encouraged the ACC to follow available evidence in determining the scope of its investigation. The panel will issue a statement when the ACC completes its review and takes a final decision on the scope of the investigation,” she said.
Goldstein later talked to reporters coming out of a programme at the LGED auditorium in the capital.
Replying to a query on the “unresolved issues” mentioned in the statement, she said, “I think the issue that is being discussed is the applicability of certain Bangladeshi laws and how this would influence the scope of the investigation, and that is really the issue that I think the ACC is dealing with and of course we leave it to them entirely.”
“It is their responsibility to work in accordance with the laws of Bangladesh and to determine what is the appropriate scope of the investigation into corruption evidence under Padma bridge.”
In his instant reaction, Muhith told reporters in Sylhet that the WB’s latest statement is “totally unjust” as discussions are still on with the global lender over the project’s funding.
“I just don’t like it,” he said after laying the foundation stone of a primary school building in Sylhet.
“A team of WB experts visited Dhaka for the second time. It held meetings with the ACC and me too. They obviously expect something from the discussions and we also expect something good,” said the finance minister.
But it was not a right thing on the part of the WB Dhaka office to issue such a statement at this moment, said Muhith.
The ACC chairman said, “We are reviewing the draft enquiry report on the basis of discussions with the external panel. I don’t understand why the World Bank issued the statement at this stage.”
Replying to another question, Rahman said, “We have heard their views. We will consider those while reviewing the draft report.”
ACC sources said though the WB provided sufficient evidence against Abul Hossain, the ACC did not include his name in its draft report leading to a stalemate in talks between the commission and the external panel.
ACC panel lawyer Khurshid Alam Khan told The Daily Star that the commission can implicate Syed Abul Hossain in the first information report, if it has got any specific allegations against him.
Khurshid said he didn’t know whether there is any corruption allegation against Abul, as he didn’t see the inquiry report.
The WB on November 13 sent a third report to the ACC on corruption evidence containing detailed evidence of corruption against certain public officials as well as others.
The WB prepared the third report based on information received from the Canadian government and other sources, said a high official asking not to be named.
The third report mentioned the names of those against whom corruption allegations had been raised in an earlier report, but the latest one contained more evidence, the official said.
Wishing anonymity, a finance ministry official said the WB and the project’s co-financiers were ready to start the bridge project this month, subject to the WB panel’s positive signal about the ACC enquiry.
The WB panel’s visit was rescheduled early, instead of late this month, as the project’s co-financiers were eager to start the project sooner.
But the whole thing got stuck following a stalemate in talks between the ACC and the WB panel over the ACC enquiry into the corruption allegations in the project, said the official.
On December 2, Muhith told reporters that the project’s implementation will begin soon after the investigation gets started.
He said the WB panel wanted to see action, which means launching of an investigation, filing of case and submission of charge sheet.
The co-financiers held a meeting in Manila from November 28 to 30 to discuss the revised implementation arrangement for the bridge project, said sources.
According to the revised arrangement, the donor having the biggest share in the financing of a specific package would lead that component. A committee headed by the lead donor of that component will oversee the entire implementation process that includes inviting tender, selection of bidders and evaluation of the bids. The government will finally approve it.
The co-financiers would have finalised the revised implementation arrangement this month on discussion with the government, had the external panel given a positive signal about the ACC enquiry, said the sources.
The WB cancelled its $1.2 billion funding on June 29, saying it had proof of a “corruption conspiracy” involving Bangladeshi officials, executives of a Canadian firm and some individuals.
The global lender on September 21 decided to revive the loan after the Bangladesh government agreed to the WB’s terms and conditions, including proper probe into the corruption allegations in the project.
Source: The Daily Star
