Dhaka, Mar 03 (V7N) –United States President Donald Trump's recent claim that a $29 million fund from the USAID went to an organisation owned by two individuals in Bangladesh is not true, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.
In a statement today (3 March), the ministry said a $29 million USAID-funded project titled 'Strengthening Political Landscape (SPL) in Bangladesh' has been implemented in the country by Democracy International, a US-registered organisation.
On 21 February, while addressing the Governors Working Session at the White House in Washington, DC, Trump claimed that the $29 million USAID fund went to a firm that nobody ever heard of.
"[They] got $29 million. They got a cheque. Can you imagine you have a little firm, you get $10,000 here, $10,000 there. And then we get $29 million from the United States government. They had two people working in that firm," he said.
An investigation of the foreign ministry, however, revealed that during President Trump's first term, USAID selected Democracy International to implement the SPL project.
"Following a call for project proposals, many international organisations participated in the bidding process and USAID made the selection by following a transparent competitive process.
"After signing the agreement in March 2017, Democracy International started implementing the project. Later, the project period was extended and its funds came in stages," reads the statement.
Such projects are implemented through the bilateral Development Objective Assistance Agreement (DOAG) between Bangladesh and the US, the ministry said. "In this case, individuals have no power to do anything."
"Initially, the SPL project had a duration of five years and a budget of $14 million. The project was managed by USAID and financed by USAID and the UK's development assistance agency DFID [now FCDO]. The DFID's funding commitment for this project was $10 million," the ministry said in the statement.
"The main objective of the SPL project was to reduce political violence and increase peace and harmony, create peaceful coexistence among political parties, increase the capacity of parties, improve the practice of internal democracy in parties and encourage the development of representative leadership. Under the project, Democracy International also conducted survey activities in Bangladesh," it added.
The ministry noted that it is mandatory to follow the US government's financial management policy and audit process in USAID projects.
"Relevant documents are preserved even after the completion of projects and re-audits are carried out if necessary," it added.
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