Economic census: Tk 38m for SMS, mobile bill, Tk 120m for cloud server

The government has undertaken a Tk 5.79 billion project for conducting a nation-wide economic census. But the unusual allocations in some certain sectors have called the entire project into question.

Against such a backdrop, the authorities have taken an initiative to re-assess the project, while the planning minister is scheduled to sit with the concerned officials on Sunday.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) will implement the economic census project. The allocations that raised eyebrows include – a staggering Tk 120 million for the purchase of cloud server, Tk 4.6 million for purchasing 40 computers and laptops, Tk 220 million for purchasing software, Tk 60 million for data storage, and Tk 3 million for computer and software maintenance.

Besides, an amount of Tk 37.9 million has been allocated for SMS and mobile bills as the economic census will require sending 40 million SMS in total. According to the BBS, each SMS will charge Tk 0.20, while field workers' will get an accumulated mobile recharge of Tk 30 million.

Regarding the excessive allocations, planning minister MA Mannan told Prothom Alo on Thursday, “Although the project secured approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), a number of allocations, including that of computer purchase, have been called into question. I will sit with the officials concerned, including statistics and informatics division secretary, BBS director general, and planning ministry’s industry and energy division secretary.

The minister further said a project proposal undergoes several phases before receiving its final approval. He does not have a scope to verify the proposals in detail as these are forwarded to him shortly before being presented to the ECNEC.

The duration of the census project is two and a half years, from January 2023 to June 2025. A total of Tk 3.92 billion has been allocated for the survey activities under the census.

A thorough analysis of the project documents revealed that a fund of Tk 13.7 million was kept as hospitality charges for 1,441 individuals involved in the economic census. The daily hospitality charge was set at Tk 950 per person, though it requires around Tk 400 to 500 to entertain a guest in a decent-quality restaurant in Dhaka.

There are separate allocations for purchasing books, magazines, brochures, audio-video clips, printing, binding, and stationery items. Besides, an amount of Tk 92 million was allocated for buying necessary equipment, without specifying the type of equipment.

A project requires engaging consultants to be completed. In the economic census project, a total of Tk 12 million has been allocated as annual honorarium for four consultants, each receiving Tk 250,000 per month.

Moreover, Tk 16.7 million will be spent to arrange 107 meetings and seminars to highlight various aspects of the projects. Another Tk 60 million will be spent on promotional campaigns and advertisements.

Contacted, an official said on the condition of anonymity that the allocations were made in line with market prices and there is no excess allocations.