In its first six months in office, the BNP-led government has not been able to break free from the bureaucratic practices of previous governments, struggling to deliver on its electoral pledge to reform the administration based on merit, competence and experience.

Practices of forced retirement, transfers, contractual appointments and relegation to the status of an officer on special duty (OSD) persist at the top level of bureaucracy, with a new addition: attachment.

Serving and former officials believe these are the reasons why normalcy has not yet returned to the administration. Officials at the Secretariat also remain skeptical about an end to the “culture of retaliation” in the near future.

In reply to a query from this correspondent at an event on August 17, Ismail Zabihullah, public administration adviser to the prime minister, said, “We are trying to identify and get rid of partisan officials loyal to previous autocratic regimes. This effort will continue.”

“Though there was an opportunity for the BNP government to restructure the administration with a five-year target, those in charge either failed or deliberately did not do so in the first six months.”

Badiur Rahman, former secretary

Of the 89 secretaries currently in service, at least 44 were appointed by the BNP government -- 16 of them on a contractual basis. In total, 21 secretaries are serving on contract.

Asked why the administration lacks dynamism despite extensive changes at the top, an additional secretary at the public administration ministry said, “Party loyalists can be given ministerial berths, but they cannot run an administration.”

“Several individuals, who had been away from the civil service for years and actively involved in party politics after retirement, obtained contractual appointments to key positions and are now overseeing the administration,” the official added.

FREQUENT CHANGES IN TOP POST

Upon assuming office in February, the government made frequent changes to top posts and transferred several top officials, which, according to senior bureaucrats and experts, hampered the functioning of the administration.

On March 3, Emdad Ullah Mian, the then agriculture secretary, was sent on compulsory retirement. Rafiqul I Mohammad, who served as the deputy commissioner in Bogura during the previous tenure of the BNP government, was appointed in his place.

Rafiqul was transferred to the President’s Office on August 10, and only 12 days later, he was made secretary to the Rural Development and Co-operatives Division.

Questions were also raised regarding the necessity of making contractual appointments to top administrative posts.

Usually, a retired official is appointed as a secretary on a contractual basis when his or her specialised expertise is needed for a particular ministry.

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However, this was not followed in the case of Abdun Naser Khan. Upon his retirement as secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division, he was contractually appointed secretary of the textiles and jute ministry on April 16, rather than at the ministry where he had worked previously.

Around two and a half months later, he was transferred to the industries ministry.

In the latest development, Cultural Affairs Secretary Kaniz Moula was transferred to the public administration ministry yesterday without a portfolio, barely five months after taking up the role. Her next posting will be determined by the public administration ministry, according to a gazette notification.

She had been promoted to the rank of secretary on July 14 last year and served at the Parliament Secretariat for eight and a half months.

Earlier on June 9, Obaidur Rahman, secretary at the industries ministry, was removed from the post and “attached” to the public administration ministry for two months.

He was then appointed secretary at the housing and public works ministry.

The public administration ministry on March 25 issued an order attaching Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division Secretary Sirajun Noor Chowdhury and Financial Institutions Division Secretary Nazma Mobarek to the ministry. However, the order was cancelled four days later.

Meanwhile, 10 officers, promoted to secretary during the interim government’s tenure, were attached to the public administration ministry. At least seven of them had one to two years of service remaining.

Reflecting on the current functioning of the civil bureaucracy, public administration expert and author Firoz Mia said, “Many of those steering the administration had been detached from the civil service for over a decade. They retired either as deputy or joint secretaries, meaning that none of them has practical experience of running a ministry. This is  weakening the government.”

CULTURE OF RETALIATION

According to public administration ministry sources, around 30 officials at various levels of the administration were sent into compulsory retirement after the BNP-led government assumed power in 2001, compared with around 60 after the AL-led government took office in 2009. A significant number of officials were also made OSDs during the tenure of both governments.

During the interim government’s tenure, around a hundred officials, including 15 senior secretaries, were either sent into forced retirement or made OSDs.

Over the last six months, a secretary and 32 additional secretaries have been sent into forced retirement.

Several administrative officers said the government is actually granting “a dignified exit” to officials mired in controversies over corruption and abuse of power during the AL government’s tenure by sending them into compulsory retirement, which entitles them to all retirement benefits.

Besides, some competent officials who were not partisan were also sent into compulsory retirement over the last couple of years, they said.

Seeking anonymity, a former cabinet secretary said, “Institutional knowledge is crucial in statecraft. Not everyone who works in a top position under a government becomes partisan towards that administration.”

Former secretary Badiur Rahman, also ex-chairman of the National Board of Revenue, said, “Though there was an opportunity for the BNP government to restructure the administration with a five-year target, those in charge either failed or deliberately did not do so in the first six months.

“In the early days of the AL government, many qualified officers were harassed while some partisan officers were sent into compulsory retirement. We are witnessing the same pattern even after the mass uprising,” he said.

Remarking that relief cannot be brought to the administration through vengeance, Firoz Mia said that experienced and qualified individuals must be placed in key positions while ensuring proper punishment for those who engaged in corruption and abused power during the tenure of the autocratic regime.

“This is the only way to restore stability in the administration,” he said.

When contacted, Abdul Bari, state minister for public administration, said, “In the aftermath of the mass uprising, it will take some time not just for the administration, but for the entire country to get back to normalcy.”

He further said the government has been trying to post competent and skilled officers where needed, and that the situation is gradually improving.

Regarding contractual appointments to top posts, Bari said the government is appointing officials on a contractual basis only if it deems that necessary.

“Nothing is being done outside the purview of the law,” he added.