Bangladesh Prime Minister Denies Approval for Chittagong Mayor’s US Mosquito-Control Junket
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Prime Minister Tareque Rahman has blocked a controversial proposal by the Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) for a taxpayer-funded trip to the United States, following reports that the excursion was being bankrolled by a foreign pesticide supplier. Mayor Shahadat Hossain and four senior officials had planned to visit Florida and Chicago in June to ostensibly study mosquito-control technologies, an invitation extended by Valent BioSciences LLC.
The proposed trip triggered scrutiny because the corporation had already purchased 3.64 million takas worth of larvicide from the same company last September. According to local reports, this acquisition was the largest single procurement of mosquito-control chemicals by the city in recent memory. Critics, including governance experts, characterized the trip as a potential conflict of interest, noting that the corporation’s leadership had no justifiable reason to travel abroad on the dime of a supplier whose product had already been integrated into city operations for eight months.
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Responding to the proposal, Prime Minister Rahman dismissed the necessity of international travel for such training. He suggested that officials could observe the practical realities of mosquito control far more effectively by visiting local ditches at dusk, a comment that has since intensified public debate over the city’s mismanagement of vector-control funds. In response to the cancellation, Mayor Hossain issued a statement affirming his respect for the government’s decision and maintained that the intent of the visit was to gain insights into modern public health technologies.
The planned delegation included several key administrative figures, including the acting chief executive officer and the head of the cleaning department. Beyond visiting research facilities, the itinerary reportedly included discussions on establishing a local laboratory and finalizing a “sister city” agreement with Chicago authorities.
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The controversy highlights broader concerns regarding the efficacy and transparency of the city’s mosquito-eradication programs. While the corporation has spent over 14 million takas on chemicals and equipment over the past four fiscal years, residents continue to report persistent infestations. Despite the significant expenditure on larvicides—including the Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) purchased from the U.S. firm—there is no rigorous, publicly available data evaluating the success of these interventions.
Transparency advocates, such as the local chapter of the civil society group SHUJAN, have decried the invitation as a form of influence peddling. Akhter Kabir Chowdhury, president of the group, stated that such junkets are essentially disguised bribes intended to secure future contracts or expedite payments, and he urged the government to implement stricter regulations to prevent similar conflicts of interest in the future.
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