World Bank to help recover Bangladesh's stolen assets

Dhaka, June 2 (UNI) The World Bank's South Asia Region Vice President Praful C Patel today said the Bank would provide assistance to the country's military-backed caretaker government's anti-corruption drive and help recover 'stolen assets'.

According to media reports, millions of dollars were allegedly siphoned off by some politicians and deposited in foreign banks during the previous regime of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.

Ms Khaleda's eldest son Tarique Rahman alongwith 170 former ministers, MP's and businessmen were arrested on charges of corruption by the military-backed interim government.

''The 'stolen assets' must be recovered and the World Bank stands ready to provide help in this regard,'' Mr Patel said in a conference here after concluding a three-day visit.

Mr Patel suggested quick prosecutions of the accused, who were arrested in recent anti-graft drive.

''Focussing on credible prosecutions of several big fish, rather than casting the net too widely, will send the right signals and enhance the credibility of the Anti-Corruption Commission in the eyes of the public,'' he said.

He also suggested 'checks and balances' strategy to minimize abuse of power within the current structures of governance.

Mr Patel said Bangladesh's potential growth rate of eight to nine per cent has been hampered by the confrontational politics and corruption in the past.

With the average growth rate of around 5.5 per cent, poverty fell by about 20 per cent between 1990 and 2005. But Bangladesh still has 56 million people living in poverty and there are sharp regional differences in the rate of poverty reduction, he said.

Mr Patel also met government's Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed and some top policymakers during his visit and discussed power, energy, water and education sectors.

He admitted the present upward trend in inflation has been a big concern for the country's economy, particularly the increase in the prices of food essentials. But he also added that prices of food items and other commodities are out of the government's control.

The World Bank bureaucrat said inflation in Bangladesh is relatively lower compared to other countries in South Asia. As in March 2007, the consumer price index inflation in Bangladesh was 7.4 per cent while it was 7.6 per cent in India, 7.7 per cent in Pakistan and 10 per cent in Sri Lanka.

Mr Patel mentioned that World Bank would disburse about 450 million US dollars by the end of the current fiscal year to finance its different projects in the country.

He hinted, the bank's support might increase in the next few months and the power sector, infrastructure especially Padma bridge and mordenisation of agriculture project might get priority in this regard.

Earlier, the Bangladesh government signed an agreement with the World Bank on the fourth development support credit (DSC IV) of 200 million US dollars in policy-based lending to bolster the country's ongoing reform efforts. Officials said the World Bank would approve another loan of 100 million dollars for the education sector anytime within July 5 this year.

UNI