US recommends disclosure of Bangladesh government procurement contract information
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The United States has urged Bangladesh to prepare budget documents in line with internationally recognized standards and upgrade the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), the country’s supreme audit institution, to international standards to improve transparency in the financial sector.
At the same time, the country has recommended making information on Bangladesh’s government procurement contracts publicly available.
The recommendations and observations were made in a report titled “2026 Fiscal Transparency Report: Bangladesh,” recently published by the US Department of State.
The report said the interim government had made significant progress in financial transparency by publishing the year end financial statement within a reasonable period. It said the government had followed the previous government’s budget recommendation and implementation procedures while also beginning important reforms to improve the country’s fiscal transparency.
The US Department of State said the interim government had made its executive budget proposal and approved budget publicly available online. Although the documents did not fully comply with international standards, the budget information was generally reliable. Information on debt obligations was also readily available to the public. In addition, the budget documents provided a reasonably complete picture of the government’s planned expenditures and revenues, including revenue generated from natural resources.
Pointing to some shortcomings, the report said the budget did not provide separate accounts of the operating costs of the government’s executive offices, nor did it provide a complete picture of revenues and expenditures. It also said the country’s supreme audit institution did not meet international standards for independence. In addition, although the government procurement e GP system was in place, there was room to further improve access to and availability of information.
The report made several specific recommendations to the Bangladesh government to restore full transparency in the financial sector. These include making basic information on contracts related to the extraction of natural resources publicly available, ensuring that actual revenues and expenditures are aligned with the approved budget, and providing the supreme audit office with adequate funding and the necessary autonomy. It also recommended ensuring that the CAG can directly audit the full year’s budget in a timely manner.
