ADP execution slips to 84pc in FY23

Implementation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) slumped to 84.16 percent in the just concluded fiscal year 2022-23.

The public agencies’ austerity measures taken to offset external shocks from the new global crisis were blamed for the slump.

The government agencies finally managed to spend Tk 1,990.99 billion out of Tk 2,365.61 billion revised ADP outlay in the fiscal year, according to the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) data.

In the FY 2021-22, ADP implementation bounced back to 92.74 percent from the Covid-19 fallout.

Not only the execution rate, the last fiscal year’s volume of expenditure witnessed 0.022 percent negative growth.

“The primary analysis of last fiscal’s ADP data suggest that ADP performance declined mainly because of more tightening grip on public expenditure,” IMED Secretary Abul Kashem Md. Mohiuddin said on Thursday.

He said they were yet to study other causes of the low ADP implementation.

However, the IMED secretary said that they were satisfied with the execution rate which was “more than expected.”

From the very beginning of FY 2022-23, the government imposed austerity plans in public expenditure to address the financial crisis stemming from the new economic onslaught of the Russia-Ukraine war.

ADP projects were categorised by A, B and C in terms of the government-set priorities.

The allocated money was fully released for A category projects, while B category projects got 85 percent of their allocated money disbursed and most of the C category projects did not get any money despite having ADP allocation.

The IMED secretary informed that while foreign tours were stopped in FY 2021-22, the government put a ban on vehicle purchase in FY 2022-23, which also had reflections on the ADP expenditure.

Planning Minister MA Mannan said that there were some instructions from the part of the government as some unexpected situation arose in the last fiscal year, adding that there might have been some other reasons, including the implementing agencies’ lack of capacity.

Despite putting in place austerity in public spending, the government did not squeeze money flow for any important projects, he claimed.

“There is no implementing agency which did not get money after seeking money from the government. We only asked them to maintain austerity,” Mannan stated.

As a result of the austerity, ADP expenditure from the state coffer hit five-year low at 81.77 percent or Tk 1,251.62 billion, which was 92.11 percent or Tk 1,264.68 billion in the previous fiscal year.

Despite remaining comparatively higher, project assistance utilisation rate also slipped to 90.40 percent from 92.66 percent while expenditure volume marginally improved to Tk 673.44 billion from Tk 673.39 billion a year earlier. 

The trend of last-minute spending sprees continued in the last fiscal year as well although it lost some pace.

The spending in June, the last month of the fiscal year, totalled Tk 530.77 billion or 22.44 percent of ADP compared to Tk 612.61 billion or 27.90 billion spending in the same month a year earlier.

Top 15 ministries and divisions that secured 81.6 percent of ADP money last fiscal, posted 82.73 percent overall execution rate with Energy and Mineral Resources Division posting the highest rate of 103.04 percent.  Bridges Division achieved 96.67 percent ADP followed by the Power Division’s 93.06 percent, Road Transport and Highways Ministry’s 91.14 percent, Railways Ministry’s 90.46 percent, Science and Technology Ministry’s 90.03 percent, Housing and Public Works Ministry’s 89.29 percent and Local Government Division’s 82 percent.