The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led government has continued to make contract appointments in key positions of the civil bureaucracy as eight more retired civil servants have already been appointed to the rank of secretary.
At least 16 secretaries, including principal secretary and cabinet secretary appointed on a contract basis, are currently serving in the top posts of the civil administration, creating frustration among those aspiring promotions to the top level following the political changeover.
The new government is yet to grant any regular promotion to the rank of secretary since assuming office on February 17, but appointed seven retired person to posts of secretaries.
According to the public administration ministry, there are 65 secretaries and senior secretaries, of whom 16 have been hired through contract appointments while 10 more posts of secretaries are currently vacant.
Among the officials currently appointed on a contract basis, the BNP-led government on February 26 appointed retired secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury as the secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs on a one-year contract.
Appointed through the 8th Bangladesh Civil Service examination, Manzur had retired as a deputy secretary of the Bangladesh Trade and Tariff Commission.
The interim government later granted him a retrospective promotion to secretary, recognising him as an official who had been discriminated against during the Awami League regime.
Local Government Engineering Department former chief engineer Shahidul Hassan was appointed as secretary to the Local Government Division.
The government also appointed retired secretary Munshi Alauddin Al Azad, 68, secretary at the religious affairs ministry. Officials said that he had never worked in the ministry and has been away from regular administration for the past 17 years.
Rafiqul I Mohamed, a 69-year-old former bureaucrat, has been appointed secretary at the agriculture ministry while Kamruzzaman Chowdhury, 66, was appointed secretary at the Health Services Division.
Besides, Abdul Khaleq of the 1984 batch, appointed secretary at the Secondary and Higher Education Division, has never previously served the education ministry, according to officials.
The new government has appointed former secretary Md Sarwar Alam, who retired in 2023, press secretary to the president on contract.
Earlier, the BNP government has appointed former secretary ABM Abdus Sattar, 70, as principal secretary to the prime minister on a contract basis.
A day before the formation of the new government, on February 16, Nasimul Ghani, 69, senior secretary at the home ministry, was appointed cabinet secretary on a contract basis.
Earlier, senior secretary at the Ministry of Public Administration Ehsanul Haque, 70, has been appointed by the interim government.
Election Commission senior secretary Akhtar Ahmed, 70, and chairman of the River Protection Commission Maksumul Hakim Chowdhury, nearly 70, have also been appointed by the interim government on contract.
Senior secretary at the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Md Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, 67, and senior secretary at the land ministry ASM Saleh Ahmed, 65, have also obtained contract appointment from the interim government.
Ambassador to Portugal Md Mahfuzul Haque, almost 70, and chairman of the Land Reform Board AJM Salahuddin Nagri aged, nearly 61, have been appointed on contract by the interim government.
Meanwhile, dissatisfaction has spread within the civil administration over the appointment of retired officers to top and key positions on contract, said officials.
Without elaborating, public administration state minister Md Abdul Bari told New Age that there were some reasonable grounds for such contract appointment of retired officials in the civil bureaucracy.
Officials also said that the continuation of contract appointments had created a deep resentment among career officers waiting for promotion to the secretary rank.
Many officers argued that those brought in on contract had been detached from the mainstream bureaucracy for 10 to 15 years and might not be familiar with the current administrative dynamics.
The pace of administration, they feared, may slow down as contract appointees struggle to grasp the evolving complexities of governance.
Several officials at the secretariat said that they had expected that contract appointees from the interim government would gradually be phased out, allowing regular cadre officers to take over the positions through the regular promotion process.
However, they said, the BNP-led government appears to be following the same path as the previous government in appointing secretaries at different ministries and divisions.
Under section 49 of the Public Service Act 2018, the government has the authority to appoint retired officials on a contract basis.
However, officials said, it has traditionally been the practice to prioritise an officer’s special skills and expertise relevant to the ministry concerned. But they alleged that officials without relevant expertise were also being appointed in some cases.
An additional secretary awaiting promotion to the post of secretary said that many of those now being considered for contract appointment had undoubtedly gone through difficult times in the past.
However, he noted, through retrospective promotions they had already received their titles and financial benefits during the interim government.
‘Now, if they occupy the positions that we deserve, the legacy of deprivation will continue. It will create new discrimination,’ he commented.
Asked for comment, former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Mazumder said that a balance between former and serving officials should be ensured in key administrative posts so that unrest did not develop in the administration over contract appointments.
‘I think the government may appoint only skilled and honest officials on contract as many of them were deprived during the previous tenure due to political reasons. At the same time, the government will also have to appoint honest and competent serving officials as secretary and ensured that no injustice happens,’ he said.
He also urged the government to review the performance of contract appointees before granting any extension of their tenure.
Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said that the government should consider competence while making contract appointments.
‘We hope that the government will appoint people on a contract basis considering their competence. It should not take “suicidal” decisions,’ he said.
‘At the same time, the serving officials should not be deprived in the process of appointing to posts of secretaries while the authorities must ensure that no discontent is created within the civil administration,’ he cautioned.
Another additional secretary said that frustration was spreading throughout the administration.
‘Even junior officers are worried. These contract appointments are harmful not only to our careers but also to the country,’ he said.
The issue is also being discussed in the Administrative Service Association’s Facebook group, where officers have been sharing concerns about the impact of contract appointments on the promotion process.
According to a leader of the association, many officers are reluctant to speak publicly as those deciding their promotions are themselves contract appointees.
Contacted, the association’s secretary general Babul Miah, an additional secretary at the Planning Commission, declined to comment and suggested contacting the president of the association.
