Not so ‘digital’ Bangladesh

Graphics: TBS

About a decade and a half back, 'Digital Bangladesh,' became a buzzword that permeated every aspect of society. Anchored by former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's son and ICT adviser Sajeeb Wazed Joy, the previous government proudly declared, "We've gone digital; we've made you digital." The former Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader went a step further and told us: "She [Sheikh Hasina] has made us smarter."

Now that the repressive government that you could not dare criticise is gone, it is pertinent to ask: How "digital" has Bangladesh really become? And more importantly, how much has this "digital" myth cost us?

From a layman's standpoint, the country seems to have missed the benchmark on all fronts. Some of the telling signs are internet penetration that's more 'lost signal' than 'high-speed,' e-government services that are stuck in a time warp, digital infrastructure still catching up, e-commerce growth slower than a dial-up connection and digital literacy programmes that are non-existent in reality.

Let's take the traffic system. Overhead, a Tk33,427-crore metro rail runs, and underground, a Tk150,000-crore subway is in the planning stages, with feasibility tests underway. Yet, in the midst of all this "progress," on the streets of Dhaka, a traffic police officer is still waving his hands, blowing a whistle, using a laser light, and sprinting around to manage traffic. 

Does this really align with a country that supposedly went "digital" three years ago and is now aspiring to become "smart"? In 2019, a digital traffic system initiative was launched, but like many other government digital projects, it predictably failed. Over TK2 billion has been spent installing automatic traffic lights at around 100 intersections, but manual traffic control remains the norm. 

On 27 February 2019, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in the parliament, "We want to control traffic in Dhaka city digitally… some parts of the capital have already been brought under such a system." Yet, her words remain just that—words. 

We even heard of AI-based traffic signals at the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, Tk119 crore over 15 years were spent on traffic lights. In the last two decades, over Tk200 crore has been spent installing automatic traffic lights at around 100 intersections, but manual traffic control still rules the land. 

Despite costly initiatives, most traffic signals remain dysfunctional, and police still manually control intersections across the city. 

Between 2004 and 2012, Tk14 crore was used to upgrade signals at 59 intersections, and Tk16 crore went towards countdown timers at 30 intersections, both of which proved ineffective. In 2018, Tk52 crore was spent on an Intelligent Traffic System (ITS) at key intersections, followed by Tk100 crore in 2019 for automatic control systems under the CASE project. 

More projects, more waste, more fun

Fritter away, misspend, misuse — all apply when it comes to how taxpayers' money has been squandered on so-called digital initiatives.

According to the ICT Division, from 2009 to 2024, the department has undertaken 53 projects and 34 programs, of which 22 projects are still ongoing while the rest have been completed, with a total expenditure of nearly Tk25,000 crore. Additionally, various ministries and departments have initiated digitalization-related projects, with the expenditure for projects taken by the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications amounting to Tk40,000 crore.

Large sums of commission from various projects would end up in former Minister of State for Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak's pockets, allege industry insiders. This is particularly true for projects such as Aspire to Innovate (A2I), Sheikh Russell Digital Lab, Hi-Tech Park, IT Park and the establishment of the Sheikh Kamal IT Training and Incubation Center — all initiated during Sheikh Hasina's government. 

During his tenure as a minister in the Awami government, he allegedly embezzled several thousand crore. "In the last decade or more, there has been a surge in digitalisation projects, and in the last five to six years the budget for the ICT ministry has increased significantly, by five to six times," said Fahim Mashroor, CEO of bdjobs.com. 

Broadly speaking, money was spent in three ways: training, high-tech parks and big projects. 

"Although a large number of training sessions were conducted, they had little to no impact. Our industries still struggle to find skilled workers because, in most cases, the training was given to individuals with political connections rather than those genuinely in need of skill development," said Mashroor.

Another significant area of expenditure has been the construction of high-tech parks, with massive buildings erected as part of these projects. Unfortunately, many of these buildings remain unused, leading to a significant waste of public funds. 

Sheikh Hasina Software Technology Park in Jessore has been used for weddings as a convention hall. Gazipur's high-tech park is mostly empty. Last April, Rest of World ran a story that aptly labelled it as a "ghost town." 

The lack of utilisation raises questions about the planning and implementation of these initiatives, as the infrastructure seems to serve little practical purpose.

Furthermore, several large-scale projects were undertaken, such as the data centre project and various software development projects. "However, these initiatives were launched without proper demand analysis to determine whether there was a genuine need for them. This lack of foresight has resulted in investments being made in projects that may not have been necessary in the first place," said Mashroor. 

"In addition to these concerns, the state of internet connectivity outside Dhaka remains very poor with people still heavily dependent on mobile data. Despite spending several thousand crores on projects, the general public has seen little to no benefit from these initiatives," he added. 

On 11 November, 2023, former State Minister for Information and Communication Technology Junaid Ahmed Palak told Dainik Bangla that "the existing 385 services at the country's 9,397 digital centres will be upgraded to 1,000 services by 2024." However, locals have reported receiving little of what was promised, suggesting that the initiative is more of a show than actual help.

The funds for these projects came either from foreign loans or government resources, meaning taxpayer money was used. "However, neither the public nor the industry has gained any tangible benefits from these costly undertakings," Mashroor noted.

Snail-slow internet 

Bangladesh's internet speed, both for mobile and broadband, significantly lags behind global standards and even within South Asia. According to the Speedtest Global Index by Ookla, Bangladesh consistently ranks low in global internet speed rankings. 

As of early 2024, the country's average mobile internet download speed is around 12-15 Mbps, much slower than the global average of 45-55 Mbps. In comparison, countries like South Korea, the UAE, and Norway enjoy mobile speeds exceeding 100 Mbps. 

Within South Asia, Bangladesh's mobile internet speed is lower than that of India and Sri Lanka, with only Pakistan having somewhat comparable performance. For broadband, Bangladesh's fixed internet download speed averages 30-35 Mbps, far below the global average of 80-120 Mbps. 

While countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Switzerland offer broadband speeds exceeding 200 Mbps, in South Asia India's average broadband speed (60-70 Mbps) is much higher than Bangladesh's. 

Underdeveloped infrastructure and limited investment in fibre-optic technologies remain the key causes behind the country's slow fate. In February 2022, Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) undertook a Tk1,060 crore 5G project. But there has been no visible progress.

The 'app trap'

A 2017 report by Prothom Alo said that "In 2015, the government's ICT Division had launched a project, spending Tk9.5 crore to develop 500 mobile apps." At the time, the ICT Division claimed that these apps would bring about a digital revolution. "However, except for three, the remaining 500 apps do not work well," the report mentioned. 

It only revolutionised their bank accounts, critics may say.  Bangladesh ranks 100th among 193 countries in the UN's E-Government Development Index, behind India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives, but ahead of Pakistan.

Between 2013 and 2015, the ICT Division of Bangladesh undertook two major projects aimed at developing mobile applications, investing around Tk181 crore 36 lakh to create over 300 mobile apps. Despite this significant investment, the results have been disappointing. 

Out of the 300 apps, only 44 are currently available on Google Play, and most of these apps are not widely used or function poorly, reflecting inefficiency in their development and maintenance.

Many of the apps have been removed from Google Play due to a lack of regular updates, and those that remain available often have technical issues and are not optimised for users. Some government institutions have attempted to develop their own apps independently but these efforts have been limited and scattered, with little overall impact.

The government's A2I project has also contributed by developing more than 18 apps as part of the broader "Digital Bangladesh" initiative. However, the success of these apps has been limited, and they have not been widely adopted or maintained.

In 2016, the ICT Division launched a project costing Tk269 crore and 80 lakh to improve mobile gaming and app development capabilities in Bangladesh. This project has also failed to produce meaningful results, adding to the series of underwhelming digital initiatives.

Although the government has digitised 761 services, people are not receiving adequate benefits due to slow servers and poor internet speed. This information has surfaced in a government survey.

According to the survey conducted by the Central Procurement Technical Unit (CPTU) on 67 selected digital services from 26 ministries and departments, several of these services are no longer accessible online.

The survey was conducted through interviews with 55 service providers at the administrative level and 340 beneficiaries at the grassroots level. Around 91% of service recipients reported that the services still exist, while the rest stated they were no longer available. Nearly 90% of users expressed a positive attitude toward digital services.

Despite overall satisfaction, users faced various issues when using services like e-dockets, land mutation, e-passports, machine-readable passports, loan services, e-trade licenses and health services online.

The e-Government project, implemented by the ICT Division and Planning Division, aims to digitise government office operations to ensure accountability and transparency. To date, the project remains incomplete and a lack of skilled manpower to run the online platform persists.

The tender 'formality' 

The government has undertaken many digitalisation projects, with procurement processes conducted through official tenders. Subsequently, it has been widely reported that these tenders were merely eyewash. 

"The problem we observed is that while the government would launch various initiatives, only a few selected institutions would end up getting the contracts. The tenders are published on the e-GP portal, but often, certain preferred vendors are already selected before the tenders even go public," said a Chief Operating Officer of a leading tech company.

He added, "Other software companies submitted bids just for the sake of bidding, but the contracts had been already decided. Deserving vendors, who could provide better digital solutions at lower costs, were not chosen. 

Most of the government's digital contracts went to Gigatech, owned by Salman F Rahman's son, Shayan."

Several large-scale projects were undertaken, such as the data centre project and various software development projects. "However, these initiatives were launched without proper demand analysis to determine whether there was a genuine need for them. This lack of foresight has resulted in investments being made in projects that may not have been necessary in the first place

Fahim Mashroor, CEO of bdjobs.com

What about digital literacy? 

While the government has implemented some digital literacy programmes, a significant portion of the population lacks the necessary skills to engage with digital technologies meaningfully. 
Most people, especially in rural areas, are not adequately trained in using the internet, computers or digital services, making it challenging to implement broad-based digital reforms.

In the education sector, while digitalisation initiatives have been introduced, such as multimedia classrooms and e-learning platforms, many teachers and students still lack access to digital tools and adequate training. This means the human capital needed to drive innovation and utilise digital tools is not sufficiently developed. In effect, it creates a bottleneck for the country's overall digital transformation. 

Set up done, maintenance none

A lack of proper maintenance, technical support and outdated systems plague many digital services. For instance, currently, there are around 500 government websites. Many work despite technical issues and many others don't work at all. 

There is no emergency contact number where you can call to address these issues. 

The data privacy debacle 

Sheikh Hasina's son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and Palak have been accused of embezzling Tk20,000 crores. A case has been filed against 19 individuals, including Awami League government's ICT advisor Joy and Palak, for allegedly illegally selling national identity card information. 

This brought a looming privacy issue in the systems to the fore. Even a huge bundle of NID data was leaked last year.

With the rapid expansion of digital services, Bangladesh has experienced rising cybersecurity threats. In recent years, cyberattacks on government and financial institutions have highlighted the vulnerabilities in the country's digital infrastructure. Bangladesh still lacks a comprehensive cybersecurity framework and policies to protect its citizens and institutions from these growing threats. 

For a digital functional economy, securing online transactions and protecting citizens' data are all but critical, and Bangladesh struggled to establish adequate safeguards.

Furthermore, the lack of robust data privacy laws is another significant impediment to achieving digital success. There are concerns about how data is collected, stored and used by both the government and private companies, which discourages citizens from fully trusting digital platforms and services.

In the late 2000s, Bangladesh's journey toward becoming "Digital Bangladesh" has been a headline-grabbing dream, and has remained so ever since. The much-hyped Vision 2021 agenda was rolled out in 2009 by the Awami League government. It promised to turn the country into a tech-savvy, knowledge-driven economy by 2021. The results are all around us in 2024. 

The agenda also said governance, education and industry would be revolutionized through digitalization, and by 2041, Bangladesh was set to become a "smart" nation. While, in hindsight, it sounds like a sci-fi utopia, in reality, it has to be a financial thriller. 

Instead of transforming into a tech powerhouse, Bangladesh stacked up more debt and those in charge hacked their way into the system—unfortunately, not to fix bugs, but to syphon off the funds.

Miraz Hossain. Sketch: TBS