Key targets remain elusive

sixth 5-year plan

Bangladesh unlikely to achieve the major targets set in the Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP), at  the end of the plan period.
Only four months remain before the plan period of SFYP will be over, but major targets remain unfulfilled, according to the latest progress report by the General Economic Davison (GED) of the Planning Commission.
Talking to The Independent, GED member of the Planning Commission (senior secretary), Prof. Dr Shamsul Alam, said the major achievements are yet to be achieved, such as, investment, infrastructure development, and the GDP target.
Dr Alam blamed the constraint of infrastructure facilities for not fulfilling the investment targets.  
The Planning Commission member said they would try their best to accelerate the growth rate in the Seventh Five Year Plan period and attain a growth rate of more than 8 per cent in the first two years of the upcoming Seventh Five Year Plan.
Dr Alam, who is responsible for formulation and evaluation of the plan, said, "Compared to the Sixth Plan targets, there is a shortfall in GDP because of persistent downward sentiments in the global economic arena and shortfall in private sector investment."
Some shortfall in domestic employment has been offset by better-than-expected performance in overseas employment, he added.
The latest progress report said, on the whole, the investment climate in Bangladesh remains challenging and only modest progress has been made during the plan period.
As a result, the domestic investment effort has been restrained and the flow of foreign direct investment has been small, relative to competitors. Despite some recent improvements, Bangladesh's average net FDI level of less than 1 per cent of GDP is the lowest among the regional comparators.
Dr Alam said that during the plan period, at least 10 million jobs have been added in formal and informal sectors.
Prudent macroeconomic management has been the hallmark of Bangladesh's long-term development. This was underscored in the Sixth Plan and the implementation record shows that it has not only been preserved, but strengthened, during the plan period.
Fiscal urgency has often required cutbacks in spending, in areas of high priority, and, as a result, inability to meet the Sixth Plan commitments, particularly in education, health, social protection, and environment, has occurred.
Procurement problems (particularly land acquisition) have slowed down the implementation of major infrastructure projects. The important policy initiative of public-private partnership, in infrastructure, has not achieved the desired momentum.
Regarding external sector, despite the strong performance in exports, the diversification of the export base did not happen. On the contrary, the share of RMG export increased.
However, Dr Alam said, remittance did very well and foreign exchange reserves have reached US$ 26 billion. The progress report shows that significant progress was made in this regard.

Key targets remain elusive

sixth 5-year plan

Bangladesh unlikely to achieve the major targets set in the Sixth Five Year Plan (SFYP), at the end of the plan period. Only four months remain before the plan period of SFYP will be over, but major targets remain unfulfilled, according to the latest progress report by the General Economic Davison (GED) of the Planning Commission. Talking to The Independent, GED member of the Planning Commission (senior secretary), Prof. Dr Shamsul Alam, said the major achievements are yet to be achieved, such as, investment, infrastructure development, and the GDP target. Dr Alam blamed the constraint of infrastructure facilities for not fulfilling the investment targets. The Planning Commission member said they would try their best to accelerate the growth rate in the Seventh Five Year Plan period and attain a growth rate of more than 8 per cent in the first two years of the upcoming Seventh Five Year Plan. Dr Alam, who is responsible for formulation and evaluation of the plan, said, Compared to the Sixth Plan targets, there is a shortfall in GDP because of persistent downward sentiments in the global economic arena and shortfall in private sector investment. Some shortfall in domestic employment has been offset by better-than-expected performance in overseas employment, he added. The latest progress report said, on the whole, the investment climate in Bangladesh remains challenging and only modest progress has been made during the plan period. As a result, the domestic investment effort has been restrained and the flow of foreign direct investment has been small, relative to competitors. Despite some recent improvements, Bangladeshs average net FDI level of less than 1 per cent of GDP is the lowest among the regional comparators. Dr Alam said that during the plan period, at least 10 million jobs have been added in formal and informal sectors. Prudent macroeconomic management has been the hallmark of Bangladeshs long-term development. This was underscored in the Sixth Plan and the implementation record shows that it has not only been preserved, but strengthened, during the plan period. Fiscal urgency has often required cutbacks in spending, in areas of high priority, and, as a result, inability to meet the Sixth Plan commitments, particularly in education, health, social protection, and environment, has occurred. Procurement problems (particularly land acquisition) have slowed down the implementation of major infrastructure projects. The important policy initiative of public-private partnership, in infrastructure, has not achieved the desired momentum. Regarding external sector, despite the strong performance in exports, the diversification of the export base did not happen. On the contrary, the share of RMG export increased. However, Dr Alam said, remittance did very well and foreign exchange reserves have reached US$ 26 billion. The progress report shows that significant progress was made in this regard.