Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Planning, Mr. Zonayed Saki MP on 28 June 2026 said the Strengthening Institutions for Transparency and Accountability (SITA) Project would help the government achieve its objectives of accelerating economic growth and improving public service delivery.

Speaking as the chief guest at the launching ceremony of the SITA Project at the Ballroom of the Pan Pacific Sonargaon in Dhaka, the State Minister formally inaugurated the project. The SITA Project is an umbrella government initiative involving five agencies with support from the World Bank.

The ceremony, organized by the Planning Division, was presided over by its Secretary S M Shakil Akhter and attended by senior government officials, representatives of the business community, development partners, media professionals and members of civil society.

The five implementing agencies of the project are the Planning Division, the Bangladesh Public Procurement Authority (BPPA) under the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED), the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the National Board of Revenue (NBR), and the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General (OCAG).

The five-year SITA Project, spanning 2025 to 2030, aims to enhance access to reliable statistics, increase tax compliance, and improve the efficiency and accountability of public spending. The project has a total cost of Tk 3,287 crore, of which the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank will provide Tk 3,043 crore and the Government of Bangladesh will contribute Tk 244 crore.

Among others, the Chief Executive Officer (Secretary) of BPPA, S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed, Secretary of the Statistics and Informatics Division Md. Firoz Sarker, IMED Secretary Shirajun Noor Chowdhury, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, FCMA, Comptroller and Auditor General Md. Nurul Islam, World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh Jean Pesme, and World Bank official Sebastian Eckardt addressed the ceremony as special guests. Nasimur Rahman Sharif, Joint Secretary and Project Director of the Planning Division component, delivered the welcome address.

The State Minister said the SITA Project had been designed to automate public service delivery across the five agencies while strengthening collaboration through the exchange of evidence-based information. He noted that the project is aligned with the government's objective of ensuring the timely and budget-bound implementation of development projects.

He emphasized the importance of automated revenue collection by the NBR, automation of accounts and audit systems, improved measurement of inflation and GDP, better project development and monitoring, and modernization of the electronic Government Procurement (e-GP) and public procurement system.

Referring to the country's fiscal challenges, the State Minister said the budget-GDP ratio currently stands at only 13 per cent and needs to increase significantly. "If we allocate 5 per cent each for health and education, how can we carry out the remaining development activities with only 3 per cent?" he observed.

World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh Jean Pesme said the government is currently facing challenges related to economic growth, job creation, transparency and structural weaknesses. In this context, he noted, the implementation of the SITA Project is crucial to overcoming these challenges.

World Bank official Sebastian Eckardt said around 1.6 million young people enter Bangladesh's job market every year, while employment remains a major challenge. Effective performance by the five implementing agencies, he said, would significantly improve government service delivery.

Planning Secretary S. M. Shakil Akhter said the SITA Project is of special significance to the Planning Division, which will provide strategic leadership in its implementation and ensure effective collaboration among the participating agencies.

BPPA Chief Executive Officer (Secretary) S. M. Moin Uddin Ahmed said the authority envisions a procurement system that is fully digital, transparent, data-driven, inclusive, sustainable and citizen-centric. "By 2030, we expect to have a modern, secure, cloud-ready e-GP Version 2.0 platform under the project," he said.

NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan emphasized the need to raise the tax-to-GDP ratio to around 15 per cent from the current level of less than 7 per cent. He stressed the importance of plugging revenue leakages and ensuring greater integration among all automated government systems.

IMED Secretary Shirajun Noor Chowdhury highlighted the transformative impact of the Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence, saying the government envisions inclusive growth driven by investment. He also outlined the government's 3R strategy for economic growth—Recovery, Restoration and Reconstruction-as a key framework for achieving sustainable development.

Comptroller and Auditor General Md Nurul Islam said under the project, the OCAG will have an automated accounts and audit system that will significantly improve the service delivery.