Shadow forces behind

Many "shadow forces" are working from behind the scenes delaying the purchase of tablets that would be used in conducting the country's population census, said Planning Minister MA Mannan.

The minister, however, said that he would try his best to complete the process fairly and properly even though it requires more time.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

He said while responding to a query at a press briefing after the meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) yesterday.

"We have the rules and regulations to tackle the forces. The focal point of these rules and regulations is the government's purchase committee. In the case of purchases, the purchase committee is a higher committee."

The committee has found various errors and sent back the proposal, he said. "It is not my responsibility to judge that."

"But as much as I know, there is no shadow forces in my place (ministry)."

Mannan said the prime minister would give him more time even if it was delayed for the sake of proper calculation and expenditure.

When asked whether there is any shadow force in the purchase committee, Mannan said, "No, no. I never said this. The shadow force can be anywhere in the world."

On December 20, the purchase committee, for the second time, turned down a tender proposal of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) to buy 3.95 lakh tablets for conducting the sixth population census, citing a lack of details in the proposal.

Earlier, the BBS re-tendered its proposal to buy the tabs days after the cabinet committee had rejected the initial tender on August 25.

The census, which provides complete data on the overall population, its composition, workforce, density, housing and other socioeconomic indicators vital for formulating economic and other policies, was supposed to be held in January last year.

The first tender was floated on June 23, and the technical evaluation committee of the BBS picked the second-lowest bidder after the lowest bidder was disqualified.

Eight companies had bought bidding documents but only two local companies, which manufacture and assemble electronic items, took part in the bidding.

Earlier, the schedule for the census, which is conducted once a decade, was deferred by 10 months to October 25-31 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The last census was held in 2011, when the country's population stood at 15.17 crore.