The investigation regarding irregularities in a2i may start from Monday
UNDP is also investigating the matter
Access to Information- a2i was launched in 2007 with funding from the United Nations Development Program, the Gates Foundation, USAID and the Government of Bangladesh. After the formation of the Awami League government in 2009, the digital transformation of government services called a2i became known to the citizens through the establishment of the Union Digital Center. Then in 2018, the a2i program was placed under the Department of Information and Communication Technology under the direction of the Prime Minister. Finally, in 2020, it was renamed Aspire to Innovate (a2i) from a business-based 'autonomous' and 'self-reliant' organization. Since then, various information started coming out about various issues of the organization. A 17-member Board of Directors was formed. The effort to establish it as an independent organization by law began.
Questions arose in various circles about the business under this board and government sponsorship. There was a lot of criticism on social media. On August 20, 14 officers/consultants working in the a2i program were ordered to refrain from performing their duties after verifying the complaints received after the fall of Hasina regime. The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Division formed a committee to investigate the allegations brought against 5 of them. These five officials are SPS Senior Consultant HM Asad-Uzzaman, e-Document Implementation Expert ATM Al Fattah, Senior Software Engineer Tanveer Quader Imon, Admin Consultant Omar Farooq and Procurement Senior Consultant Salahuddin. A letter was sent to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to take action against the remaining 9 persons subject to investigation.
A 3-member committee was formed in this regard, making Additional Secretary of the ICT Division Dr. Muhammad Mehedi Hasan the president. The other members of the investigation committee are the Joint Project Director Molla Mizanur Rahman and Deputy Secretary Md. Shaheenur Alam. The committee was asked to submit an inquiry report on the complaint within five working days. The committee held a meeting and sent a letter to a2i asking for the documents of 5 people and then 9 others to identify the criminal act of the accused. They are Policy Advisor Anir Chowdhury, E-Government Analyst Md. Farhad Zahid Sheikh, Project Management Specialist Md. Majedul Islam, HD Media Project Analyst Purobi Matin, Technology Analyst Md. Hafizur Rahman, Capacity Development Specialist Manik Mahmud, Resource Mobilization Specialist. Nasser Mia, DFS Specialist Md. Tahurul Hasan, Solution Architecture Specialist Rezwanul Haque Jami.
However, there is a question about the investigation committee as there is no experienced person in the technical and audit work. In such a situation, the investigation committee suspends the work. Later, on September 1, three more people were added to this committee. The 6-member committee was allotted 15 days for the investigation. However, even though the names of the new committee have been announced for a week, the investigation has not actually started yet.
When asked why the investigation is being delayed, Muhammad Mehdi Hasan, head of the investigation team, said that he had received the names of only two of the three new members till Thursday. Among them, Director of Foreign Aid Projects Audit Directorate Hossain Ahmed Shubo was named on September 4 and IMD Director Joint Secretary Mahfuzar Rahman was named on September 5. The name of the representative will be available from Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT), BUET on September 7. As they did not receive the written letter, the name of any representative has not yet been received from there.
Mehdi said, after receiving the names of all the committee members, the investigation work will be started again after the meeting. Since the previous committee has been dissolved, a letter was sent to a2i after 3 meetings, but no reply was received. The entire investigation will start afresh. 15 working days will be counted from the first meeting.
When asked about the allegations against the officials, a2i Project Director Mamunur Rashid Bhuiyan said that 5 of the 14 accused were appointed by the ICT Division. Complaints about their recruitment process have recently been filed anonymously on social media. The committee is investigating that matter. The investigation committee can say better about this. The remaining 9 are recruited through UNDP. That is why a letter has been sent from the department to UNDP to take all measures regarding them. But I know that this investigation committee will work on all of them.
UNDP resident representative Stephen Leeler said in this regard, the contract with a2i will expire in 2025. We have already received some complaints about them on social media. I am investigating the matter. We are taking the investigation very seriously.
On the other hand, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Postal Telecommunication and Information Technology Adviser Md. Nahid Islam said that there has been extensive corruption and irregularities in the name of digitization in the last 15 years, and we are investigating those. There is a lot of criticism about a2i. We want to change the policy of a2i. We have not yet punished anyone for irregularities and corruption. 14 officials of a2i have been asked to refrain from work for the sake of investigation. Since UNDP is involved with a2i, we have asked them to investigate as well. In this case, if UNDP wants, they will be cooperated for the sake of investigation.
