Billions spent on political branding thru’ ICT projects
Abu Jakir :
A government-commissioned white paper released on Thursday paints a stark picture of how Bangladesh’s ambitious “digital transformation” drive during the previous Awami League–led administration was allegedly used as a vehicle for political image-building, cronyism and large-scale financial misappropriation, diverting thousands of crores of taka from public purposes to partisan ends.
The 472-page report, spanning 13 chapters, details systemic irregularities across a wide range of state-run information and communications technology (ICT) projects, including those under the ICT Division, Bangladesh Computer Council, Hi-Tech Park Authority and the a2i programme. Drawing on documentary evidence, the report alleges patterns of inflated contracts, nepotism, syndication among preferred firms and extraction of public funds with little regard for actual need or impact.
Among the most striking claims are expenditures with tenuous links to improving the ICT sector. The report notes that Tk 4,211.22 crore was spent on projects such as Sheikh Russel Digital Labs and the production of the film Mujib Bhai through the Centre for Research and Information, while another Tk 16 crore was allocated for a film titled Khoka. The committee questions whether such spending strengthened digital infrastructure or merely served to craft and promote a political narrative.
The white paper further alleges that high-tech parks and IT training centres were established nationwide without credible assessments of demand, feasibility or local capacity. Many projects were reportedly abandoned: some facilities had no trainers, others no trainees, yet contractors allegedly received full payments.
The report identifies at least a dozen IT parks and several flagship initiatives — including DEIID, EDC, the IDEA project and a four-tier data centre — as being affected by favoritism, syndication and what it describes as “unjustifiable” expenditures.
Training initiatives in IT, freelancing and e-commerce were also criticised as heavily politicised, with evidence of party influence over participant selection. The report cites an example in which laptops distributed under a freelancing programme were allegedly given only to participants who were not involved in activities opposed to the Awami League.
The Learning and Earning Development Project (LEDP) is said to have suffered from irregularities, including the appointment of fake trainers, repeated billing for similar courses, and the issuance of certificates without corresponding skills acquisition. As a result, thousands of “freelancers” existed only on paper, while many failed to sustain themselves in the actual marketplace.
According to the committee, a beneficiary network formed around the ICT sector over more than a decade came to wield disproportionate influence over policymaking. This, the report asserts, undermined competitive market structures and excluded large sections of the domestic IT industry from fair access to state support. Some individuals listed as trainers reportedly lacked basic IT qualifications, and in several cases, the same person appeared as a trainer across multiple institutions simultaneously.
The white paper also highlights concerns that certain commercial ICT organisations were used for political purposes. Many training programmes became certificate-driven exercises with little effective skills evaluation, contributing to what the authors describe as a hollowing out of genuine capacity-building.
The committee emphasises that the report is not intended as a tool of political retaliation. Its stated aim is to establish a foundation for transparency and accountability in future policymaking. It recommends deep institutional reforms in the ICT sector, strengthening independent audit mechanisms and introducing stricter oversight.
Analysts have cautioned that without sustained political will and legal follow-through, the white paper risks joining a long list of reports that failed to produce meaningful change. Dr Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh, said the publication was an important step, presenting evidence-based findings of corruption, favouritism and irregularities.
“This initiative will only be effective if the government demonstrates political will and ensures accountability at both institutional and legal levels,” he said. “Otherwise, this white paper, like many before it, may remain merely a file-bound document.”
The committee was led by development economist Professor Dr Niaz Asadullah and included Professor Rezwan Khan, chairman of PGCB; Professor Chowdhury Mofizur Rahman of BRAC University; Professor Muhammad Mustafa Hossain of Purdue University; BUET Professor Rifat Shahriar; Barrister Afzal Jami Syed Ali; technology expert Asif Shahriar Susmit; and journalist Md Shariat Ullah.