BANGLADESH

Syed Abul Hossain has launched a passionate defence of himself against a rash of criticism over allegations of irregularities and corruption in the $2.9 billion Padma bridge project during his time as communications minister.

In an interview with , the man who shares much of the blame for the World Bank freezing its promised loan, said, "When facts are revealed, all unjustified allegations should be resolved and the misconceptions in the media, the World Bank and [among] the people should be cleared up."

The World Bank in last October suspended a $1.2 billion loan to the government for the project that has been awash in corruption allegations the Anticorruption Commission is currently investigating.

The loan, which was its biggest-ever off-credit line to any country, was signed in April last year to help finance Bangladesh's longest bridge that would link the country's north with its more-isolated south.

The tension between the government and the global lending agency burst into public view after the project co-financier slapped allegations against Abul Hossain that he was engaged in extortion during river dredging, appointment of consultants and preliminary selections.

Hossain, shuffled to the newly carved out information and communications technology ministry, says he "ensured complete transparency and accountability".

He pointed the finger at "the conspiracy and acts of sabotage by a faction" that delayed the much-vaunted scheme. The minister added, without calling names, that the faction "spread misinformation through nameless letters and created debilitating misconception about corruption in this project."

Things started to go wrong in early September when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided the offices of SNC-Lavalin, an engineering firm bidding on the bridge project, after the World Bank's anti-graft unit referred its concerns about violations of Canadian law.

"Sadly, not only the people of the country and the media, but even the World Bank have been caught in this web of misconception," the minister remarked.


He laments that the fund freeze stalled the process of main tender invitation and the contractor selection.

"Any allegation of corruption at this stage is nothing other than pure speculative and baseless accusation. These fictional and rumor-based accusations will inevitably be proven untrue in any thorough and fair investigation."

The man well known for his broad smile says he is "sure that the World Bank will discover the genuine facts" and "recognize the unfortunate misconception that has so detrimentally delayed this long awaited project".

After several deadly accidents and passenger sufferings on rundown roads and highways, his public spat with party colleagues – which degenerated into an ugly mudslinging match – played out on the front pages of newspapers and in primetime bulletins last year.

Asked what he makes of the intense media gaze during those tough times, he suggests the media blew things up in some cases, while he recognised the freedom of speech.

"What I found most unfortunate is that media's role is becoming perhaps an unsuspecting instrument in some of these orchestrated protests. To my absolute disappointment I witnessed several news articles that reported inaccurate conjectures."

He cited instances of getting a taste of often hostile media scrutiny.

"There were criticisms in the media about the renovation of the minister's office- the cost of which was colorfully reported by Prothom Alo to be 1 Crore 20 Lacs; but in fact, the cost was 7 Lac 20 thousand. There was also extensive news coverage about a luxurious car being bought by the Communications Ministry - which was in fact never bought.

"In 2005 I started the construction of a guesthouse in my village near the Sheikh Hasina Academy and Women's College with my own Tax Paid money. The construction was completed this year and I have never even stayed at this house for a single day. Even this philanthropic act of development for my constituency was scrutinized and criticised by Prothom Alo."

Despite all this, Abul Hossain says he is confident that he will be cleared of charges levelled by the World Bank over the Padma bridge project.

"I expect that if the investigation's report is completed and accurate, it should reveal that there [were] no acts of corruption or any other irregularities in the proceedings of the Padma Bridge Projects."