PM-led cell needed to monitor FYP implementation

The main problem in Bangladesh is that while we make many good plans, we do not implement them effectively. This has been the case with previous Five-Year Plans. Once the plans are made, the ministries often consider their job done, thinking that the government wants a plan, and it has been completed. They do not prioritise the implementation of the plans when making various policies and decisions.

The government is currently planning the 9th Five-Year Plan. To ensure its successful implementation, a high-level planning monitoring cell should be established under the leadership of the prime minister. Planning and implementing the plan haphazardly will yield no benefits.

Each Five-Year Plan promises increased revenue, higher private and foreign investment, and boosted exports, suggesting that all the country's problems will be solved. However, in reality, we see that none of these problems are being resolved.

Exports of ready-made garments were expected to reach $21 billion by 2021, but this target has not been met. Private investment was projected to exceed 27% by 2025 in the last Five-Year Plan but remains stagnant at 23%-24%. Only about one-third of the planned foreign investment materialised.

Despite plans to significantly increase the tax-GDP ratio, it has actually declined. The root cause of these issues is profound, yet no substantial steps are being taken to address it.

The government should prioritise the implementation of policies. The Ministry of Planning does not play the role it should in executing the Five-Year Plans. Every ministry should monitor the progress of policy implementation monthly or quarterly and ensure that the policies are enforced. While all ministries should be responsible for implementing policies, they currently are not.

At present, ministries do not even open the Five-Year Plan books. Officials who successfully implement policies should be rewarded, while those who fail should be reprimanded.