Sinecure promotions
The fact that seven officers of the rank of secretary have been promoted to the higher rank of senior secretary would not be headline-worthy news under normal circumstances. But when most of the seven have just a few weeks to serve out the age limit, and one of them is due to retire the very next day after his promotion, it is certain to raise our eyebrows. In fact, of the remaining six, only one will serve till June of 2021.
Promotion is a much-aspired objective of any employee; it is the prime motivation. And as we understand, promotions follow certain criteria, merit and efficiency being foremost among them. Then comes one's seniority and time of retirement and, of course, vacancy. However, it seems to us that in Bangladesh, promotions are being used as a handout, a manna if you like, in many cases. Regrettably, this is very pronounced in our administration. Otherwise, how does one rationalise the large number of OSDs (Officer on Special Duty)? Unfortunately, and something that bodes badly for the administration, promotions have been based not on competence or vacant posts but on other extraneous considerations. Presently, according to one report, there are nearly one thousand joint secretaries against 430 vacancies. And according to the report of a corruption watchdog published in June this year, due to irrational promotion, additional secretaries in many cases are carrying out the duties of deputy secretaries, whereas deputy secretaries are doing the jobs of senior assistant or assistant secretaries. Only authorised vacations have budget authorisation for their pay and emoluments.
We should not overlook the fact that promotions and government exchequer, i.e. public money, are umbilically linked. And promotions are not for the benefit of the individual. While one may consider it a right to be promoted, the underlying criterion is that, at the end of the day, all promotions are done to serve the interest of the state. In these cases, the promotions, all but one, will serve everything but the interest of the state.
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