Dhaka, Sep 11 (Representative) Bangladesh is not included in the list of countries that meet the minimum conditions of international standards of financial transparency. This was stated in the 2022 Financial Transparency Report (FTR) of the US Department of State. However, it is mentioned that Bangladesh has made significant progress in fulfilling the conditions. And four recommendations for improvement have also been made. According to the report released on Friday, 72 out of 141 governments this year, including the Palestinian Authority, have met the minimum conditions for financial transparency. The remaining 69 countries did not meet the minimum conditions. However, 27 countries have made significant progress in meeting these conditions. In South Asia, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka have been promoted to this US financial transparency standard. On the other hand, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Maldives are in Bangladesh’s queue. The situation is the same with the junta-led Myanmar government. The report was prepared by evaluating the adequacy of budget information including income and expenditure of the ministries and the transparency of the government’s various contracts and registration (license) process for extracting natural resources. In the report, the fact that the audit of government income and expenditure does not show the real picture is mentioned as one of the reasons for the financial opacity of Bangladesh.
According to the Bangladesh section of the report, the government’s income-expenditure accounts are reviewed by the highest institution in charge of auditing. However, the company’s report does not reflect the real picture. This report is not made public on time. One such organization in Bangladesh is the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). But the report also mentions that the independence of this supreme audit institution is not of international standards. It also said that the basic information of the contracts executed in the extraction of natural resources are not made public in a consistent manner. However, the report on Bangladesh’s progress says the government has made significant progress by publishing annual reports within a reasonable time frame. The government has also arranged to get information about the executive budget proposal and the passed budget through online and other easy means. Information regarding loan liability is also available adequately. However, it said, the information provided by the budget is generally considered reliable, even though the budget documents are not prepared in accordance with internationally accepted principles.