Promotions of several hundred officials to the rank of additional
secretary and deputy secretary have been kept on hold, apparently in
fear of adverse reactions in civil bureaucracy ahead of the 10th
parliamentary polls.
The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, recently sent back a summary of the
proposal for the promotion of around 90 joint secretaries to additional
secretary amidst volatile political situation over the elections
scheduled for January 5, 2014, said officials concerned.
A group of aggrieved officials, who were either made officers on special
duty or deprived of promotions allegedly on political considerations in
last five years, on Sunday again called on public administration
ministry senior secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder at the secretariat seeking
redress.
‘They have raised their demands for postings and promotions, but there
are no vacancies for postings in the joint secretary level and above at
the moment due to recent promotions in excess of the approved posts,’
Abdus Sobhan told New Age.
A section of aggrieved officials in a kind of ‘showdown’ moved in the
secretariat for the second time as the countdown to the national
election began on November 25, a number of officers observed.
The public administration ministry, meanwhile, has also prepared the
list of about 300 senior assistant secretaries based on the
recommendations of the Superior Selection Board for promotion to deputy
secretary, allegedly to please a section of officials ahead of the
polls.
‘The lists of candidates for promotions to additional secretary and
deputy secretary have been made on the basis of the SSB
recommendations…The ministry is prepared to give the promotions anytime
subject to the prime minister’s approval,’ Abdus Sobhan had said
earlier.
He agreed that the promotion might cause adverse reactions since all the
aspirants would not be promoted at a time as there were no
vacancies.
Replying to a question, the secretary said that the promotion was a
routine work of the public administration ministry and it had got
nothing to do with the election.
The Superior Selection Board led by cabinet secretary Mohammad Musharraf
Hossain Bhuiyan in the last month finalised the lists of around 80
joint secretaries, mostly from the 1984 batch of the Bangladesh Civil
Service, and nearly 300 senior assistant secretaries, mostly from 20th
BCS batch, for the promotions, a senior official said.
‘One of the main purposes of the planned promotions is to please a
section of civil bureaucrats ahead of the national polls although there
are no vacancies in the organogram. But it is now evident that many will
be deprived again if the promotions are given at this moment,’ a senior
official said.
He said that the aspirants including those who were left out earlier
from the promotion process were mounting pressure on the government for
the promotions.
The fresh promotion might fuel agitations in the administration ahead of
the national polls scheduled for January 5, 2014, the officials
involved in the promotion process told New Age.
The latest bid at the fag end of the Awami League government’s five-year
tenure and just ahead of the election has raised many eyebrows. The
move came following a huge pressure from a section of officials known as
loyal to the ruling quarter in the public administration, according to
the officials.
Sobhan Sikder said that the promotions were given recently beyond the
formal structure in bureaucracy, in many cases on ‘humanitarian ground’
not on political considerations.
On November 27, over 100 aggrieved officials, most of them have remained
as OSDs in last five years, called on the cabinet secretary and the
public administration ministry’s senior secretary.
They pressed for overdue promotions and postings to create a
level-playing field in administration just a couple of days after the
Election Commission had declared the schedule for the national poll,
officials said.
There are already over 1,317 deputy secretaries against 830 approved
posts as set out in the formal structure of the administration. In
addition, there are around 1016 joint secretaries against 350 posts and
239 additional secretaries against 120 posts, according to official
records. (source)