Monday, 26. October 2009, 09:25:08
1. Background
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), Bangladesh with the view to improve its governance and operational performance to deliver quality infrastructure for the benefit of the people of Bangladesh, has taken steps with the World Bank to carry out an Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) as a part of follow-up of a project of on going RTIP with due approval of its principles from the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives. The team commenced their study in April 2008 with the following objectives to:
i. assess fiduciary and operational risks in LGED’s management of projects, asset and other resources and in the Local Government Division (LGD) of Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives’ oversight function;
ii. evaluate the efficacy of external review of decision-making by LGED and the LGD;
iii. identify options for future monitoring of operational risks in LGED and the LGD and
iv. prioritize options which are realistic and available to effectively minimize (and where possible, eliminate) the major operational risks identified..
The ORA team, in consultation with LGED Senior Staff, has produced two interim reports. The first of these, the ORA Inception Report, had the objective of reaching a common factual understanding of LGED’s organizational setup for effective policy oversight and vigilance in carrying out its fiduciary and operational responsibilities, and of work practices and processes that seem to present fiduciary and operational risks as well as of mechanisms already in place to mitigate these risks.
The second report, the Fiduciary and Operational Risk Management Improvement Plan (FORMIP) built on the first report to: (i) assess fiduciary and operational risks in LGED's management of projects, assets and other resources, and in LGD’s oversight function, that are likely to be major factors in possible funds leakages, delays and undue interferences and overall inefficient use of public resources; (ii) prioritize options which are realistic and available to effectively minimize (and where possible, eliminate) the major operational risks identified; and (iii) identify options for mechanisms which (drawing on this ORA as a ‘baseline’) will facilitate efficient future monitoring of operational risks in LGED and the LGD.
Finally, an ORA Implementation Plan, prepared jointly by LGED and the ORA team. This Plan is an expansion of the FORMIP with milestones to monitor implementation of risk mitigation measures, deadlines and resources required. The Implementation Plan focuses on nine aspects of LGED, and provides detailed schedule for remediation in each: internal organization; information & communication technology; quality control; engineering design and costing; maintenance and asset management; road safety; land use and resettlement; financial management; and procurement. Within these areas, the ORA identified and categorized following three different types of risks and proposed corresponding risk mitigating measures:
Type 1: RISKS that LGED can immediately address, mainly on its own;
Type 2: RISKS that LGED needs to address in partnership with other organizations. Work on these can begin right away, but successful implementation is expected to take longer than the first type and
Type 3: RISKS that stem mainly from outside the LGED, and where mitigating measures must go beyond the department’s control and influence. These are more complex than the first two types and may take significantly longer to address.
The ORA Implementation Plan is presented and discussed at the workshop to disseminate with participants from Government, civil society, and international partner organizations. LGED is expected to begin implementing the risk mitigating measures according to the schedule provided, following approval by the Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
2. Title of the Workshop and the Host
The workshop was titled as “Workshop on Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure”. Local Government Engineering Department organized the workshop in collaboration with World Bank.
3. Guests, Resource Persons and Participants
A total of 64 participants in different capacity from Government, civil society, national and international organizations, and Local Government Institutions attended the workshop.
Mr. Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, Honorable Member of Parliament & Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives has kindly graced the inaugural session of the workshop as the chief guest. Mr. Monzur Hossain, Secretary, Local Government Division, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives and Ms. Tahseen Sayed, Operations Advisor, World Bank, Bangladesh were remain present as special gusts in the inaugural session. Distinguished experts and participants from various categories made comprehensive discussions on the presented papers in the thematic session.
Mr. Md. Wahidur Rahman, Chief Engineer, Local Government Engineering Department has kindly chaired the inaugural session, while the thematic session was presided over by Mr. Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, Honorable Member of Parliament & Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
Among others the workshop was attended by the Team Leader, ORA Mission, Mr. W. Clay Wescott, Additional Chief Engineers, LGED, Superintending Engineers, LGED, Project Directors and other senior officials of LGED, Mr. Jean Noel Guillossou, Task Team Leader, ORA, Mr. Mohi Uz Zaman Quazi, Senior Transport Engineer, World Bank, Ms. Reefat Sultana, World Bank, Mr. Habibur Rahman, Representative of KfW, Mr. John Van Rijn, Representative of DANIDA, Mr. Ahmed Mukammeluddin, Senior Program Manager, JICA, Bangladesh, NGO officials and the representatives from civil society. The list of participants, who attended the workshop, is appended in Annex-1.
4. Venue of the Workshop
The workshop was organized at the Seminar Room (Level-4), LGED Bhaban, Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. The venue was well equipped with modern appliances and amenities.
5. Objective of the Workshop
The overall objective of the workshop was to disseminate and discuss the findings of the ORA final report with particular emphasis to share the Implementation Plan, types of risk issues, those are identified and categorized by the ORA study team for further fine tuning before sending to the concerned Ministry for approval.
6. Program of the Workshop
The workshop was held on 15 October 2009 through a scheduled program. The program was divided into two sessions. The inaugural session and the thematic session, while the thematic session was divided into two sub-sessions i.e. i) presentation of Implementation Plan and ii) open discussion for question and answer. The inaugural session was started at 10:00 am followed by thematic session with a break of half an hour for tea and continued up to 3:15 pm.
The programme was proceeded as follows:
09:00 - 10:00
Registration
Inaugural Session
10:00 - 10:05
Recitation from the Holy Quran
10:05 - 10:20
Welcome Address and Workshop briefing
10:20 - 10:30
Speech by Special Guest
10:30 - 10:40
Speech by Special Guest
10:40 - 11:00
Speech by Chief Guest
11:00 - 11:10
Remarks by the Chairperson
11:10 - 11:30
Tea Break
Thematic Session
11:30 - 14:00
Presentation on Implementation Plan
14:00 - 15:00
Open Discussion
15:00 - 15:15
Concluding Remarks by the Chairperson
7. Inaugural Session
The session started with recitation from the Holy Quran and Hafez Abdul Jabbar, Imam, LGED Mosque made the recitation. The session was followed by speeches from guests and chairperson including a workshop briefing.
7.1 Address of Welcome and Workshop Briefing
Mr. Md. Abdul Quader, Project Director, Rural Transport Improvement Project (RTIP), LGED made the address of welcome. At the outset of address the Project Director welcomed everybody with great pleasure in the “Workshop on Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure” jointly organized by LGED and World Bank, Bangladesh.
In welcome address, Mr. Quader said that the heartiest presence of government high officials in the workshop proves that the government is keenly interested to improve its governance and operational performance to deliver quality infrastructure for the benefit of the people of Bangladesh.
Mr. Quader mentioned that as part of rural development strategy & activities LGED is implementing a series of rural development projects both in urban and rural areas. He acknowledged that LGED has a long tie with the World Bank starting with the first project in late 80s. LGED has credibly completed two World Bank assisted rural development projects and the third one he expected to be completed in the next year. The impact of such investment shows that rural transport and trade infrastructure played a pivotal role to foster the economic growth by establishing accessibility making linkage rural to urban & enhancing mobility, while implementing these projects the LGED felt that there are certain areas where its performance could be improved further. Consequently, with a view to improve LGED's operational efficiency, an Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) carried out jointly by LGED & World Bank which eventually would contribute to manage future investment more efficiently and effectively, he added.
Mr. Quader informed the house that the ORA Team Members headed by Mr. Jean-Noel Guillossou, Task Team Leader of World Bank commissioned initial missions to Bangladesh in April 2008 and conducted Launching Workshop in June 2008. They submitted Inception Report; Fiduciary & Risk Management Improvement Plan (FORMIP) in November 2008 and Implementation Plan in March 2009. After successive discussions and consultation with the LGED officials and other stakeholders, the ORA team prepared Draft Final Report and submitted to the World Bank/LGED for comments in August 2009. He said that the findings will be shared and disseminated in the workshop.
He further added that an Implementation Plan has also been prepared that identifies the areas of intervention where there is a room for further improvement of LGED's business, recommends mitigation measures, indicates the responsible and cooperating agencies, milestones, dates, and estimated resources required. The plan will enable LGED managers to methodically monitor the department’s implementation of the mitigation measures, deadlines and resources.
The PD, RTIP in his address explained the nine aspects of the LGED that focused in the implementation plan along with detailed schedule for remediation. He also explained different types of issues (risks), and proposed corresponding mitigating measures that the ORA identified and categorized.
The Project Director, RTIP gratefully acknowledged the input, support and guidance from distinguished experts and LGED management to organize the workshop.
He once again thanked the Honorable MP, Secretary, LGD, World Bank representative, distinguished guests, participants and all others to grace the occasions with their presence and urged them for stimulating workshops and discussions which would ultimately help LGED to reach the consensus for efficient delivery of rural infrastructure. He also regretted for any inconvenience that might have been caused.
7.2 Address by the Special Guest
Expressing delighted to join the workshop, the Operations Advisor, World Bank, Ms. Tahseena Sayed on behalf of the Bank congratulated the Government of Bangladesh for their strong support to ORA. She expressed pleasure to see representatives from the government, LGI, and development partners. She on behalf of her organization thanked the Department of International Development (DFID) for their collaboration and support in funding the exercise.
She urged LGED to see the ORA recommendation in a forward looking manner, since the issues are a bit sensitive. She said that the World Bank is happy to note that the Government of Bangladesh has given infrastructure development a high priority and that too is reflected in its budget allocations. She said, the ORA confirmed LGED’s excellent reputation for professionalism, including quality delivery of many contracts on time and as per budget. She however stressed on significant challenges those still exist in areas including internal organization, information and communication technology, qulity control, design, maintenance, skill person etc and to address the weakness. The ORA implementation plan identified and categorized three different types of risks along with corresponding mitigation measures.
She said, the government also attaches much importance to improved governance and transparency and all that. The World Bank Executive further said, the ORA report suggests, among others, the question of outreach and communication in matters related to development. She said, the implementation of the strategy for communication requires high level political affiliation. She however concluded to say that the World Bank would remain a partner to LGED and Bangladesh.
7.3 Address by the Special Guest
Extending thanks to the organizers of the Workshop for inviting him in the Inaugural Session, the Special Guest of the Inaugural Session, Mr. Monzur Hossain, Secretary, Local Government Division (LGD) said, LGED has the reputation as an “island of excellence” in the GOB, with high standards of professionalism, and comparatively robust risk management systems. This reputation stems in part from LGED’s willingness to undergo periodic organizational reviews and to implement the recommendations of each review. Mr. Secretary further added, more work is needed to ensure that LGED maintains high standards of professionalism in managing the resources and responsibilities entrusted to it by the GoB and development partner agencies.
About the Operational Risk Assessment (ORA), the Special Guest said that the ORA was a participatory exercise involving stakeholders from the public and private sectors and civil society. He said, an important conclusion of the ORA is that the LGED has the authority to undertake most of the actions in the Plan, with support from development partners and routine budgetary spending and staffing authorizations from other agencies. The Implementation Plan would be greatly enhanced, however, if supported by further development of the Government’s, Bank’s and development partners’ programs to improve governance and reduce overall operational deficiency in Bangladesh.
He said, LGED has accepted the ORA team’s recommendation that the department should seek ministerial approval of the Implementation Plan after the workshop. Effective implementation of the ORA will require long-term commitment of LGED management, the LGD and partner agencies, politicians at all levels, and civil society and community groups. The LGED will need to continue its commitment to maintain its high level of professionalism, and to continue being a good example for other government agencies. The payoff for such commitment will be more effective use of scarce public funds, and faster progress towards poverty reduction in rural Bangladesh.
As the Supervising Ministry/Division, He assured that LGD would take appropriate measures for implementation of ORA outcomes aiming at institutional development of LGED.
Mr. Hossain concluded his speech by wishing the success of the workshop.
7.4 Inaugural Address by the Chief Guest
Recognizing LGED as the home, the Hon’ble Chief Guest Mr. Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, Member of Parliament and Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee, MLGRD&C recall his profound involvement with the evolution of LGED. He extended thanks to the organizers of the Workshop for inviting him in the Inaugural Session as the Chief Guest. Recalling from memory, he made a brief overview on the organizational evolution of LGED into a department in 1992 from a Cell in the Ministry, established in 1970s through interim reshaping as Works Program Wing in 1982 and as the Bureau in 1984. He also paid respects to the pioneers of LGED including the founder Chief Engineer, Mr. Quamrul Islam Siddique. He said, LGED from its very inception started activities with Rural Works Programme and Urban Works Programme.
Explaining LGED’s contribution, Mr. Chowdhury said, due to development efforts that extended by LGED over the decades has been made the country possible to have access to any union and growth centre by transport. LGED’s continuous efforts also contributed in expansion of trade and commerce through improvement of roads and markets.
Speaking as the Chief Guest Mr. Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP said, the World Bank was the pioneer in giving financial support to LGED in the implementation of rural infrastructure development in 1980s. He reminded the recognition of LGED in World Bank report, published 12 years back as one of the best performing organization of Bangladesh. He said, the present ORA report jointly prepared by LGED and World Bank, reflect bright sides as well as weak sides in the implementation process of LGED. He however urged upon LGED to ensure transparency and proper utilization of resources. He said, the ORA report is an important step in the process of institutional development.
He said, institutional development of LGED is always an important issue. The process of institutional development of LGED has started from 1990s and the same is going on. In course of time, the internal organizational and functional requirements will change and changes also take place in the external environment. The organization needs to have a dynamic process to manage such changes, so that it can remain effective.
He said, LGED is involved in thousands of sub-projects in rural and urban areas across the country. These include infrastructure development such as building and maintenance of small-scale water resources, schools, farming and fisheries. In towns it builds and maintains bus terminals, markets, bridges, storm-water drainage, water supply, sanitation and solid waste management, upgrades slums, determines land-use, and the like.
In view of special importance of the workshop, he requested all to be active and make contributions towards understanding the issues pertinent to LGED's Management Improvement activities as identified by the assessment report. He further urged, LGED must work to facilitate the government vision to make the country a middle income country by 2021.
He once again thanked the guests and the participants who have attended the workshop and concluded speech by declaring the workshop open.
7.5 Address by the Session Chairperson
Speaking as the chairperson, Mr. Md. Wahidur Rahman, Chief Engineer, LGED also reiterated the process of institutional development of LGED. He said, presence of Honorable Member of the Parliament & Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of LGRD&Co as the Chief Guest, the Secretary, LGD and that of the World Bank Executive as the Special Guest in the inaugural session have demonstrated the importance of the workshop.
Explaining the main functions of LGED he said, that have increased manifold covering various sectors of development including rural infrastructure development and management, small scale water resource development and management, urban infrastructure development and governance, providing technical and institutional support to strengthen the Local Government Institutions (LGIs), implementation of physical infrastructure development activities of other ministries and sectors, employment generation at the local level and contributing towards socio-economic development and poverty reduction.
Mr. Chief Engineer, LGED said, there have been many institutional support/development components under various infrastructure improvement projects of LGED in the past includes ISP under RESP during 1990-2001, MANCAP under RDP-18 during 1994-1998, ISAP under RTIP during 2005-2007.
The Chairperson pointed out the comments made about LGED in the World Bank Report in1996, where LGED is rated by both service users and donors as one of the most efficient and effective government organizations.
The Chief Engineer, LGED said, the present ORA of LGED initiated by the World Bank, is an important and critical event in the history of institutional development of LGED. He said, LGED has taken a positive view of the ORA process and expects that the outcomes of ORA will contribute towards further institutional development of LGED in future.
He said, the present workshop will provide the foundation of the implementation plan for efficient delivery of rural infrastructure by LGED. He, therefore, requested all the participants to actively participate and make their best contributions in the deliberations of the workshop, so that the objective of this exercise at Risk of LGED can be meaningfully achieved.
At the end, The Chairperson of the session took the opportunity to express thanks and gratitude to the Honorable Member of Parliament & Member of Parliamentary Standing Committee of Ministry of LGRD&Co and the Secretary, LGD and also the Operations Advisor, World Bank for their presence in the workshop and look forward for their guidance as required in future. He also extended thanks to all the guests and the participants who were present in the workshop.
8. Thematic Session
Having tea break after the inaugural session, the thematic session started at 11:30 am. The session was designed into two sub sessions. In sub session one of the thematic session, the paper on Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure was jointly presented by Mr. M. A. Quader, Project Director, RTIP, LGED, Dhaka and Mr. Clay Wescott Team Leader, ORA Mission. In sub session two an open discussion was held. The thematic session was chaired by Mr. Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP.
The Chair of the session, Mr. Chowdhury consecutively called upon the presenters and discussant. The findings of the presentation are described in the following paragraphs.
8.1 Presentation on Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure
Mr. M. A. Quader, Project Director, RTIP, LGED and Mr. Clay Wescott, Team Leader, ORA Mission jointly presented the ORA report named Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure. Mr. Quader highlighted the background and objective of the assessment, area of interventions, reports of assessment, identification of type of issues, implementation plan (type 1), required resources, follow up actions etc. while Mr. Wescott highlighted the implementation plan (type-2 and type-3).
The salient feature of their presentation is pointed hereunder:
· Objectives of the assessment are to find out & disseminate the lesson learned, to improve sectoral governance, to identify issues need to give attention for future efficient & effective delivery of rural infrastructure, formulate Action Plan to mitigate the weak areas, for proper investment justification & to facilitate future operation & monitoring.
· The assessment analyzed & assessed LGED’s HQ, Field level activities.
· Area of intervention of the assessment are: i) internal organization, ii) Information & Communication Technology (ICT), iii) quality control, engineering design & costing, iv) maintenance & asset management, v) road safety, vi) land use & resettlement, vii) financial management and viii) procurement.
· Reports of the Operation Risk Assessment (ORA) so far published are: 1) Inception Report, 2) Fiduciary & Risk Mitigation Improvement Plan (FORMIP), and 3) Finally – Implementation Plan – that identifies issues, mitigation measure, milestones ministries/agencies / department involved & resource required.
· The ORA identified and categorized 3 types of issues/risks, such as: type one – LGED address – own, type two – LGED needs partnership with other Ministries/Agencies , type three – Stem mainly outside LGED – beyond LGED’s control.
· The presenters also presented the implementation plan of the ORA recommendations for all the three types of issues/risks under each of the area of interventions. The implementation plan put emphasis on risk mitigation measures, who in LGED is responsible, other agencies related, milestones, target date and required resources against specified finding and risk.
· The recommendations in ORA implementation plan could not be implemented by LGED alone and needed cooperation of government, civil society, international development partners and other government agencies.
Detail of the paper presented is given in Annex-2. For a complete list of issues and recommended solutions, the presenters requested to visit www.worldbank. org.bd.
8.2 Open discussion, Question and Answer
At the end of the presentation, the session Chair declared the floor open and invited question and answer. All most all the discussant in the open session appreciated LGED’s effort to ensure “Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure”. Various statements, questions and answers have come from the audience and the issues discussed are bulleted hereunder.
· Mr. Hafiz Ahmed, Upazila Chairman, Bogra, Comilla: Quality of roads, schools and other infrastructure developed needs further attention. Stress to be given on maintenance components. Number of room in primary school being constructed by LGED requiring to be increased. LGED to consider upazila bypass road while constructing roads. The elected representatives’ participation should not be compared with political interference.
· Dr. Zohurul Islam, BUET: The workshop has some how special characteristics and will improve the LGED and thereby the rural development of the country. Self control is the best control as well as self rectification is the best rectification and the ORA will help LGED for further development. LGED has done much for the country and still to address many rural challenges. Cooperation and participation with international organization, national organization as such is important. Local people’s active participation should be more.
· Mr. Komol Gomez, Notre Dame College: Road connecting educational institutions should be given priority. LGED to clarify how the civil society could be engaged in the process of LGED’s rural development. In decision making, political interference should be minimized by scaling up the possibilities of civil society involvement.
· Mr. MA Latif, Retired Secretary, GoB: It is the LGED’s contribution that tremendously enhanced the rural communication network and made it accessible to every corner of the rural area during more than last two decades. Time has come to give top priority on maintenance of the infrastructure already improved. No one is happy to give land voluntarily and thus required land acquisition. Land acquisition process is not a one stop service system rather time consuming and so many factors are related. The progression of land acquisition some time found not that much difficult but could be easier depending on the potential relationship of the Executive Engineer with the concerned Deputy Commissioner. In order to minimize time loss, the awarding of contract and process of land acquisition should go simultaneously.
· Mr. Abdullah Al Rashed, PPRC: LGED versus community relationship needs further strengthening. Sometime a certain development initiated suddenly and the local people do not know how and why such development initiated due to insufficient local participation. If the local people involved from the planning stage, they will feel ownership and their contribution will be more spontaneous. LGSP is doing well in respect of LGI participation in planning, implementation and monitoring of rural infrastructure development.
· Mr. Saiful Azim, Student: Road development needs huge investment and thus the consecutive maintenance is very important to take place timely before a big damage to save rehabilitation cost..
· Mr. ABM Siddique, NGO Activist, Podokhep: Since land acquisition is a complicated matter, the process should be started in well ahead. Process of civil society involvement in LGED development needs further clarification and ventilation.
· Mr. Ahmed Mukammeluddin, JICA: At the very beginning of a project little attention is given from LGED and much of the activities like preliminary survey is done involving lower level workers. While the road is taken for development, resettlement issue should take into care. Relatively large contract package should be awarded rather than smaller contract and subcontracting phenomenon should be stopped to achieve quality delivery of infrastructure. Inadequate ADP allocation for VAT/Tax caused delay in procurement. JICA at the moment is only donor, who is contributing a large amount for maintenance purpose, which will not continue for ever. Other donors should come forward to fund for maintenance component. Operational cost is also a concern to give more budgets for LGED project.
· Mr. Habibur Rahman, Kfw: Kfw has long history to involve with LGED. Currently two projects are running and interested to see LGED’s improvement. The ORA report found very comprehensive and certainly will help in upgrading LGED’s governance. Maintenance is equally important like improvement and thus need further attention. Linkage with civil society must be further developed. The ORA recommendation expected to be approved by the government’s competent authority so that the implementation can take place as soon as possible and everybody concerned are looking forward for the usefulness of the study.
· Mr. John Van Rijn, DANIDA: GoB allocation in maintenance programme should be further increased to have complete impact from rural infrastructure.
· Mr. Saroj Kumar Sarker, Retired Civil Official: Re-structuring GIS database by 2010 and taking over GIS system into regional field level seems something optimistic. Succession planning of HR may create large vacuum in LGED. LGED must plan to fill the post every year.
· Mr. Mohd. Azizul Haque, SE (Urban), LGED: There is a gap to understand the issue of public relationship. Who are the civil societies and how far they will be involved in LGED development process. There is also having risk to involve public. If one group of people involved, may influenced by one political party, other party may create chaos and duskiness. The ORA team must define the definition of civil society and how far their involvement can set off.
· Mr. Md. Abdul Jalil Dhali, SE (Maintenance) , LGED: ADP allocation for LGED is 3500 crore, and LGED running with one CE and three Additional CE only deemed not as much of other engineering department causes frustration among LGED officials. The position should be rational and as far as practical. After a near future there is every possibility to contain a big gap in organizational workforce.
· Mr. M. Azizul Haque, PD, EBRIDP, LGED: ORA team recommendation to strengthen LGED regional setup, extending number of staff is to be implemented ASAP for better implementation. Provision of higher education, overseas study for LGED engineers is to be adopted for better career and discharging comparatively better performance. ORA should get sooner approval to launch its implementation.
· Mr. Amir Azam, Sr. Maintenance Specialist, LGED: Strategy in placing fund for maintenance purpose should be changed and such fund is to be placed faster to avoid extra weight of road damage. Resource requirement to combat some risk seems over budgeted. How ORA should address two sensitive issues like financial and political, must be clarified.
· Mr. Md. Anowarul Haque, Additional Chief Engineer (IWRM), LGED: The risks and mitigation measures identified by ORA team but how the fund for the purpose will be channeled through, is to be thinking of. This might come through a project and in such case RTIP next phase can be given responsibility to implement the ORA suggestions.
· World Bank Representative: ORA recommendations seem to be good message for all who want to see improved governance in LGED. Lot of points come and have constructive discussion in the workshop. Expected to have ministry’s approval once the ORA is finalized. The ORA will help to minimize the sustainability crisis both of sustainability of infrastructure and sustainability of institution. Currently LGED have staff but it will face potential difficulties, when the staff will go for retirement in near future.. Need policies of involvement by civil society at the level of planning, supervision and the process of overseeing by them. World Bank is keenly willing to support LGED in future. Discussion about new project will be launched after cessation of the ongoing project. Looking forward to LGED to learn what type of project can be included in future. ORA could be placed and discussed before the concerned Parliamentary Standing Committee, since Mr. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP is a member of such committee.
9. Remarks by the Chief Engineer, LGED
Mr. Md. Wahidur Rahman, Chief Engineer, LGED thanked all who participated in open discussion. The CE said, significant changes have been adapted/updated in design manual to longer sustainability of infrastructure, through RDEC-2 project with JICA support. In regard to maintenance, the CE said, LGED received only one fourth of the required fund, and it has to be double to meet the need, otherwise there will be difficulties to carry on. However he cherished that the Members of Parliament started talking about this and thus help to ventilate the requirements of it to Government. Lack of equipments owned by most of the local contractors also a hindrance to have efficient delivery of outputs.
The CE said, scope of participation by stakeholders and civil society is day by day increased and such participation is happened at various levels through different interest groups like LGI, MMC, Steering Committees, beneficiaries, farmers, O&M committees, LCSs etc. He said that the development partners are happy to see the exposure of LGED in community participation. He said, LGED believes that more participation of people in development process will scale down the level of corruption.
In regard to approval of ORA, the CE sought highest level of cooperation from Mr. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP, who is holding important position in government mechanism. He however said, LGED already initiated functioning of some activities as the ORA recommended. He assured to have better implementation of ORA recommendations to get better results. He concluded his speech in the thematic session rendering thanks and gratitude to all participants.
10. Concluding Remarks by the Session Chairperson
Mr. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP, who kindly chaired the thematic session in his concluding remarks, tried to response the discussant’s comments. He said, the presenters will modify the ORA considering the comments came through open discussion. The Chairperson said, there are always requirements and the requirements over the time have increased but we must cope with our resource limitation. He said, now a day most of the schools and other educational institutions are connected with paved or HBB roads.
He said, mitigation of corruption should be the motto of LGED and thus people’s participation in LGED project is increased day by day. LGED is following bottom up planning instead of top down, from last three decades. LGED developed and followed upazila planning book and union planning book.
In regard to maintenance, he realized the scarce of funds and urged development partners to come forward on this sector. He said, civil society involvement should be enhanced in structured manner rather than to have that in scattered way. He reiterated that there is good and bad side of involving civil society.
In regard to institutional aspect the Chairperson said, LGED should pursue government to categorize LGED in the cadre service, which does not need any addition money. LGED’s organizational set up should be in pyramid shape rather than strip inclined. Regular recruitment process should follow to lessen gaps in between.
Regarding the approval of the ORA, he assured to try his level best and said, he will be proud if he could contribute for LGED for any purpose. He thanked all participants including donors, civil society representatives, LGI representatives, NGO activists, LGED officials for attending and made the workshop useful.
With this, the Chairperson concluded the workshop
Tuesday, 20. October 2009, 10:44:59
Speakers representing government, civil society and international development partners were found to be assertive on the issue of LGED’s efforts to improve its governance and operational performance to deliver quality infrastructures for the benefit of the people of the country.
They expressed their views at a workshop on Efficient Delivery of Rural Infrastructure, jointly organised by LGED and the World Bank, held at LGED Bhaban in the city on Thursday.
The workshop was also designed in a way to shift away LGED’s present practices of public relations to more strategic forms of communication.
jointly organised by LGED and the World Bank, the inaugural session of the workshop was attended by, among others,
Md Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP and member, parliamentary standing committee, Ministry on LGRD & Cooperatives attended the inaugural session as the chief guest. Monzur Hossain, secretary, Local Government Division and Tahsin Syed, operation advisor, World Bank were special guests on the occasion.
Clay Wescott, team leader, ORA Mission was also present in the workshop.
Chaired by Md. Wahidur Rahman, chief engineer, LGED the workshop was largely attended by representatives of the different ministries of the government, World Bank, donor agencies, development partners, LGED and media personnel.
Speaking as the chief guest Md. Monowar Hossain Chowdhury, MP said, the World Bank was the pioneer in giving financial support to LGED in the implementation of rural infrastructure development in 1980s.
He said, the present ORA Report jointly prepared by LGED and World Bank, reflect bright sides as well as dark sides in the implementation process of LGED. He however urged upon LGED to ensure transparency and proper utilization of resources.
He said, the Operational Risk Assessment (ORA) jointly carried out by LGED and the World Bank is an important step in the process of institutional development.
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World Food Day today
The World Food Day will be observed in the country today (Friday), as elsewhere around the globe, with a call for increasing food production for achieving food security to face any disaster, reports UNB.
This year’s theme of the day is ‘Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis’.
The government has chalked out various programmes to observe the day aiming to encourage the farmers for increasing food production in the country, Agriculture Secretary CQK Mustaq Ahmed said at a press briefing at the Press Information Department auditorium.
He said the country is going to attain food autarky following the bumper production of boro and having a possibility of good production of aman paddy.
The Agriculture secretary, however, said that the government is importing food to some extent so that the possibility of food crisis would not be created in any disaster.
“Generally, we have no crisis of food as we have produced sufficient food to meet the demand. But the government has to import some foods due to various existing complexities in food procurement from local market and also for facing crisis in any disaster..”
He said the target of foods in the next season has been fixed at about 33 million (3.3 crore) metric tones from which the demand of food would be met easily.
Mustaq Ahmed, however, mentioned that the food production is yet to reach satisfactory level for attaining food security, as the country’ s population growing and many challenges are surfacing.
The government, he said, has taken steps to conduct more research in agriculture sector and using modern technology to produce more foods.
In a message on the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said the Day will be observed at a time when volatile food prices, the economic crisis, climate change and conflict have led to a dramatic and unacceptable rise in the number of people who cannot rely on getting the food they need to live, work and thrive.
“For the first time in history, more than one billion people are hungry. We must invest in food production and distribution,” he said.
Ban Ki-moon added: “The challenges of food security demand multilateral commitment, creativity and leadership. At this time of crisis, I encourage all nations to pursue coordinated and comprehensive strategies for agricultural development and effective social protection so that vulnerable people- women and children in particular-can get the food.”
In another message, FAO director general Jacques Diouf said: “It is vital, particularly in times of crisis, that support to agriculture not be reduced. Only a healthy agriculture sector, combined with a growing non-farm economy and effective safety nets and social protection programmes will be sufficient to face the global recession as well as eradicate food insecurity and poverty.”
He added: “On this World Food Day, let us resolve once and for all that achieving food security, in times of crisis or not, is indeed a global priority.”
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Govt urged to respect human rights
Human Rights Ambassadors Arjan Hamburger of the Netherlands, Günter Nooke of Germany and Arnold de Fine Skibsted of Denmark urged the Bangladesh authorities to further implement their international and domestic obligations in the field of human rights, reports UNB.
The Ambassador who visited Bangladesh from October 11 to 15 appreciated Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her clear commitment to zero tolerance policy with respect to human rights violations.
The EU Ambassadors visited Bangladesh to receive first hand information on the developments of human rights in its broadest sense in the country, taking into account the return to democracy after the free and fair elections in December 2008.
A release of the Dutch Embassy here Thursday said the Ambassadors had frank and cordial meetings with the Prime Minister and a number of other Ministers, representatives of the opposition, Election Commissioners, chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Directors-Generals of BDR and RAB, Additional IGP as well as a good number of Civil Society Organisations.
On Tuesday, the Ambassadors visited the Rohingya refugee camp at Kutupalong, Cox’s Bazar and discussed refugee related issues with local authorities and NGO’s. The delegation was extensively briefed by the UNHCR on their interventions benefitting the refugee population.
The delegation was briefed on the progress made on the implementation of the CHT Peace Accord by relevant authorities and the CHT Commission. The Human Rights Ambassadors were encouraged by government’s commitments to a zero-tolerance stance on extrajudicial killings, torture and custodial death.
They welcomed commitment to the implementation by relevant authorities of the recommendations made during the Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council early 2009.
The Human Rights Ambassadors also discussed socio and economic human rights while acknowledging the development challenges of Bangladesh.
The need to strengthen independent institutions whose mandate is to further the respect for human rights such as the National Human Rights Commission, Right to Information Commission and the Anti Corruption Commission was mentioned as well as expanding assistance to Bangladesh in this domain.
Monday, 5. October 2009, 14:24:34
Earthquake Safety: What to do before, during, and after an earthquake.
I am writing this by news of the recent earthquake in Sumatra, Indonesia and USA. I find myself realizing that many thousands of people of Bangladesh do not know how to prepare or behave in the case of an earthquake. In the view of earthquake zone Dhaka, Bangladesh and Tehran, Iran are most vulnerable city in the world. In 12 June,1897,during in earthquake at lest more than 500/600 were died at Dhaka and in that period population of Dhaka city was almost 9000. Where as at present it is more than 1.5 crore.
Dhaka city might eventually be affected seriously by seismic activity. So, now that you know, let us talk about what you can do now, before your walls start shaking and your floors start moving.
How to Prepare for an Earthquake
Take stock of your top-heavy furniture and do what you can to secure it to the wall or floor in case of an earthquake. Secure objects like mirrors attached to your dresser firmly so they do not fall awkwardly during tremors. Be conscious of where you store heavy objects, and where paintings, heavy clocks or mirrors are on your walls. Secure these objects well in preparation for a possible earthquake. Pick "safe places" in each room of your home. A safe place could be under a sturdy table or desk or against an interior wall away from windows, bookcases, or tall furniture that could fall on you. The shorter the distance to move to safety, the less likely you will be injured.. Injury statistics show that people moving as little as 10 feet during an earthquake's shaking are most likely to be injured. Also pick safe places, in your office, school and other buildings you are frequently in. Practice drop, cover, and hold-on in each safe place. Drop under a sturdy desk or table and hold on to one leg of the table or desk. Protect your eyes by keeping your head down. Practice these actions so that they become an automatic response. When an earthquake or other disaster occurs, many people hesitate, trying to remember what they are supposed to do. Responding quickly and automatically may help protect you from injury.
If you must leave a building after the shaking stops, use the stairs, not the elevator. Earthquakes can cause fire alarms and fire sprinklers to go off. You will not be certain whether there is a real threat of fire. As a precaution, use the stairs.
The name of the game in preparing your home and family for an earthquake is security and awareness. Involving each member of your family in your home's earthquake safety will help to drive the point home; earthquakes are not a game, they are serious.. A little readiness can minimize the damages your family experiences.
If you're outside in an earthquake, stay outside. Move to the nearest clear place away from trees, fences, buildings or signs. Crouch down and cover your head. Trees, streetlights, and power lines may also fall, causing damage or injury. Many injuries occur within 10 feet of the entrance to buildings. Bricks, roofing, and other materials can fall from buildings, injuring persons nearby. Take special notice of where utility lines are in relation to you, and keep far away from them if possible
Take a first aid class from your local pharmacy, a flashlight and sturdy shoes by each person's bedside
Discuss earthquakes with your family. Everyone should know what to do in case all family members are not together. Discussing earthquakes ahead of time helps reduce fear and anxiety and lets everyone know how to respond.
Wait in your safe place until the shaking stops, then check to see if you are hurt. You will be better able to help others if you take care of yourself first, then check the people around you. Move carefully and watch out for things that have fallen or broken, creating hazards. Be ready for additional earthquakes called "aftershocks. "
If you happen to be driving when an earthquake occurs, do not panic. Drive your car / bus / tempoo rationally and calmly to the side of the road away from trees and utility lines, and passenger do not exit the vehicle. Your vehicle will act as a ground in the event of a broken power line, and is a safer location to wait out the shaking.
AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE
Check yourself for injuries. Often people tend to others without checking their own injuries. You will be better able to care for others if you are not injured or if you have received first aid for your injuries.
Protect yourself from further danger by putting on long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sturdy shoes, and work gloves. This will protect your from further injury by broken objects.
After you have taken care of yourself, help injured or trapped persons. Don't try to move seriously injured people unless they are in immediate danger of further injury.
Look for and extinguish small fires. Eliminate fire hazards. Putting out small fires quickly, using available resources, will prevent them from spreading. Fire is the most common hazard following earthquakes.
Leave the gas on at the main valve, unless you smell gas or think it's leaking. It may be weeks or months before professionals can turn gas back on using the correct procedures. Explosions have caused injury and death when homeowners have improperly turned their gas back on by themselves.
Inspect your home for damage. Get everyone out if your home is unsafe. Aftershocks following earthquakes can cause further damage to unstable buildings. If your home has experienced damage, get out before aftershocks happen.
Help neighbors who may require special assistance. Elderly people and people with disabilities may require additional assistance. People who care for them or who have large families may need additional assistance in emergency situations.
Listen to a portable, battery-operated radio (or television) for updated emergency information and instructions. If the electricity is out, this may be your main source of information. Local radio and local officials provide the most appropriate advice for your particular situation.
Expect aftershocks. Each time you feel one, drop, cover, and hold on! Aftershocks frequently occur minutes, days, weeks, and even months following an earthquake.
Watch out for fallen power lines or broken gas lines, and stay out of damaged areas. Hazards caused by earthquakes are often difficult to see, and you could be easily injured.
Stay out of damaged buildings. If you are away from home, return only when authorities say it is safe. Damaged buildings may be destroyed by aftershocks following the main quake.
Use battery-powered lanterns or flashlights to inspect your home. Kerosene lanterns, torches, candles, and matches may tip over or ignite flammables inside.
Inspect the entire length of chimneys carefully for damage. Unnoticed damage could lead to fire or injury from falling debris during an aftershock. Cracks in chimneys can be the cause of a fire years later.
Avoid smoking inside buildings. Smoking in confined areas can cause fires.
When entering buildings, use extreme caution. Building damage may have occurred where you least expect it. Carefully watch every step you take.
Examine walls, floor, doors, staircases, and windows to make sure that the building is not in danger of collapsing.
Check for gas leaks. If you smell gas or hear a blowing or hissing noise, open a window and quickly leave the building. Turn off the gas, using the outside main valve if you can, and call the gas company from a neighbor's home. If you turn off the gas for any reason, it must be turned back on by a professional.
Look for electrical system damage. If you see sparks or broken or frayed wires, or if you smell burning insulation, turn off the electricity at the main fuse box or circuit breaker. If you have to step in water to get to the fuse box or circuit breaker, call an electrician first for advice.
Check for sewage and water line damage. If you suspect sewage lines are damaged, avoid using the toilets and call a plumber.
Watch for loose plaster, drywall, and ceilings that could fall.
Use the cell phone only to report life-threatening emergencies. Telephone lines are frequently overwhelmed in disaster situations.
Watch animals closely. Leash dogs and place them in a fenced yard. The behavior of pets may change dramatically after an earthquake. Normally quiet and friendly cats and dogs may become aggressive or defensive.
Thank you. With best regards...Engr Salam, nephew of Ali Reza and Ali Imam, Assistant Engineer, LGED, Kushta Zilla Parishad.
Monday, 21. September 2009, 11:50:45
Holy Ramadan ends. Today is Eid Day. As per Arabic Month Engr Quamrul Islam Siddique has been died in 1st Ramadan and his father Nurul Islam Siddique died in 6th Ramadan.
Engr Quamrul Islam Siddique (founder father of LGED) has been started his engineering career from Kushtia Zilla Parishad as a District Engineer eqiuvalent to assistant engineer. He joined in Kushtia Zilla Parishad as a District Engineer in 1968. During in care-taker government he told LGED Chief Engineer to transfer me from Kushtia Sadar Upazila to Kushtia Zilla Parishad (in his past Chair) on deputation. From that time I have been working in Kushtia Zilla Parishad still now.
There are so many email were corresponding with him and all mail was related to innovative science and technology. He always told me to learn from him. He was my Guru. I lost my great master. In 2007, he was in Kushtia during the time of Eid-ul-Fitr and it was his last Eid in his life. His wife Ms Sabera Siddique,a perfect house wife and daughter Tasnima Siddique Faria was along with him. I could not control my emotion right now. Please pray for my Boro Sir to the almighty Allah and for his family.
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest. There is no deity besides Allah and Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest and all praises are for Allah only
Eid Mubarak.
One of my corresponding email with Engr Quamrul Islam Siddique in 6th Ramadan of 2007 (19-09-2007) is here,
Flag this message
Re: Milad and Doa Mahfil
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 11:53 AM
From:
"Quamrul Islam Siddique" <qis@bol-online. com>
View contact details
To:
"md salam" <salam2007_kst@ yahoo.com>
Cc:
"Nazrul Siddique" <nazrul.siddique@ gmail.com>, "A. Rashid" <abdur_m_rashid@ yahoo.com>, "Mahmood I. Siddique" <mahmood1@comcast. net>, "Siddique, Shamsul" <ssiddiqu@dasny. org>, msiddique_MD@ yahoo.com... more
Thank you Salam for giving us details of milad and doa mahfil in our house in Kushtia in memory of our departed father and meeting our mother also.----QIS
On 9/19/07, md salam <salam2007_kst@ yahoo.com> wrote:
Dear Sir,
Peace be on you. After having Doa and Milad Mahfil for
the death anniversary of late Chanchajan (your
father)at your Courtpara residence I have been geting
90% relieved from my waist back pain (back bone disk)
by the grace of almighty Allah. From yesterday I was
on completely bed rest due to sudden arisen of severe
back pain. Sir, I was crying much emotionally keeping
my head to mother's (your mom)lap remembering my
losing parents and chanchajan for couple of moments.
Also due to absent of your co-uterine brother
bada(boro) bhaijan and his kids.I could not check
myself at that time. In my obsession I feel you and
also I miss you. The milad Mahfil has been completed
in both places inviting a great eternal peace. I have
been giving many thanks to Mamun bhai due to his
trusteeship involvement and hard work. I respect and
love him very much. Nobody can split our relationship
as like a co-uterine brother. In spite of doctor's
advising bed rest I have been entered in the Milad
Mahfil with my families.
Now I am sending email. But past 2 days I could not
sit down. I am following you and I will always keep my
self in touch with you. Please, pray for me. God bless
you. Please, take care of your health.
Yours Salam.
Engr Salam, nephew of Ali Reza ( 33# accused person in Agortola conspiracy case, officially called State vs. Sheikh Mujib in 1968 ) and Ali Imam (former football Coach of Abahoni Sporting Club), LGED, Kushtia.
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