The US State Department鈥檚 2025 Fiscal Transparency Report has called on Bangladesh to take further steps to improve fiscal transparency, noting that while the interim government has made progress in budgetary openness, significant gaps remain in practice and compliance with international standards.
Economists and experts have described the recommendations as largely positive, emphasising that their implementation is essential not only to meet international expectations but also for the country鈥檚 own economic development, good governance, and citizens鈥� rights.
During the review period, a non-political interim government replaced the previous administration responsible for budget creation, said that report released on September 19.
While the interim government, it said, largely followed budget recommendations and procedures introduced earlier, it also initiated reforms aimed at enhancing fiscal transparency, particularly in natural resource procurement.
The US report provided eight recommendations that Bangladesh could pursue to improve fiscal transparency, the economists said.
Economists described the recommendations of the US State Department as largely positive, observing that the report addressed long-standing weaknesses in Bangladesh鈥檚 public financial management system.
While the US government may be concerned with these issues in the context of its investment and business interests, the measures are essential from Bangladesh鈥檚 perspective, they said.
Implementing the recommendations would advance the country鈥檚 economic progress and development and uphold citizens鈥� rights, including the right to information, good governance, accountability, and transparency, they further said.
According to the economists, the recommendations are not only consistent with international standards but are also vital for Bangladesh鈥檚 own benefit.
The US report said that the prior government made both its executive budget proposal and enacted budget publicly available, including online, while it failed to release its end-of-year report in a timely manner.
Although budget information is considered generally reliable, the documents did not fully conform to internationally accepted principles, nor did they provide a complete breakdown of expenditures, especially those related to executive offices, said the report.
Publicly available documents did include data on state-owned enterprises and debt obligations, offering what the report described as a 鈥榬easonably complete picture鈥� of planned聽 expenditures and revenue.
Still, shortcomings remained in presenting a substantially comprehensive account of revenues and expenditures, it observed.
The report recommended that the country should聽 publish end-of-year reports timely and should ensure that budget documents were prepared in line with international standards.
The report further suggested providing detailed breakdowns of expenditures for executive offices and presenting a more comprehensive account of government revenues and spending.
In addition, it emphasised the need to strengthen the independence and resourcing of the supreme audit institution and to publish audit reports in a timely manner, including substantive findings and recommendations.
Former Lead Economist at the World Bank鈥檚 Dhaka office Zahid Hussain described the recommendations as positive, while cautioning that implementing all the measures simultaneously could be challenging due to capacity constraints.
While talking to 抖阴精品 on Saturday, he acknowledged that Bangladesh鈥檚 budget information did not fully meet international standards, particularly in terms of the detailed classification of expenditures.
The economist said that although the overall economic classifications were available, ministry-by-ministry breakdowns of specific purchases, such as salaries, stationery, or land, remained difficult to access in the main budget documents.
Zahid also observed that delayed audits weakened accountability, as reports were often years behind the schedule and failed to provide timely feedback
He recommended prioritising faster reporting of actual expenditures and the prompt completion of audits, saying that addressing these issues would significantly enhance fiscal transparency and support more informed policy decisions.
The US report also called on Bangladesh to release information on natural resource extraction awards and to make the details of government procurement contracts publicly available.
Commenting on the report, Centre for Policy Dialogue distinguished fellow Mustafizur Rahman said that measures such as clear budget details, procurement information, and timely audit reports were essential not only to meet international expectations but also for the country鈥檚 own economic progress and inclusive governance.
He said that delays in audit observations often rendered comments on multi-thousand-crore projects ineffective years later.
Mustafiz said that ensuring accountability, clarity, transparency, and good governance was necessary for protecting citizens鈥� rights, advancing economic growth, promoting sustainable, and inclusive development in Bangladesh.
鈥楴ow, the US government may be concerned about these issues because they are interested in investing and doing business here. However, from the perspective of our country鈥檚 economic progress and development, as well as the people鈥檚 rights, these measures should be implemented for our own benefit,鈥� the economist said.
Policy Exchange Bangladesh chair M Masrur Reaz said that many of the recommendations targeted historically weak areas in the country鈥檚 financial management.
He said that key suggestions included ensuring that financial statements were completed promptly at the end of each year, conducting audits in line with international standards, and strengthening the independence and autonomy of audit institutions, which often existed on paper but might not be fully effective in practice.
Masrur highlighted the importance of contract transparency, particularly regarding natural resource agreements, and observed that such information was often not publicly disclosed in Bangladesh.
He also said that implementing these measures would enhance financial management, improve disclosure quality, increase transparency, and strengthen oversight through timely and independent audits.
