The ADB in Bangladesh: A Look Back or A Leap Backward?
A Critical Appraisal of the ADB’s Achieving Results Together: 25 years with the Bangladesh Resident Mission
VOICE
Dhaka, Bangladesh – April 2008
After the World Bank and the Japanese Government, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is the third largest donor in the Asia-Pacific Region, lending an average of US $5 – $6 billion a year to its developing member countries1. As one of these counties, Bangladesh has always ranked as one of the top borrowers, receiving an average of US $ 362 million per year between 2002-20062. In terms of gross Official Development Aid, the ADB is one of the biggest donors to Bangladesh, surpassed only by the World Bank3. Where has this money gone since the institution of the Bangladesh Resident Mission (BRM), the Bangladesh branch of the ADB, in 1982? What progress has been made, what development accomplished? Those seeking answers to this question must certainly look to the ADB itself.
Last year, the ADB published a report, Achieving Results Together: 25 years with the Bangladesh Resident Mission, painting a rosy picture of its development projects in Bangladesh over the last quarter century. But can we take their rendition at face value? In this brief review, we will examine some of the realities behind the ‘results’.
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