More burden on Bangladesh's state coffer

The government will have to spend more money from the public exchequer on the salaries and perks of the 222 public servants who got promotion over the last three days, but who will continue to do their same old job. 

Three days into the promotion of 85 deputy secretaries to joint secretaries, the government yesterday promoted 73 deputy secretaries to the rank of joint secretary and 64 senior assistant secretaries to the rank of deputy secretary. Most of these officials were denied promotion in the last several years for various reasons.

All the officials have been attached to the public administration ministry after making them Officer on Special Duty (OSD). But most of them will remain as in-situ officers as there is no vacancy in the three upper tires of the bureaucracy, according to sources in the cabinet division and several ministries.

This means they will draw higher salaries and enjoy more perks, but will do what they used to do before their promotion, which is already a common scenario in the top-heavy civil administration.    

Taxpayers will have to count an additional Tk 30 lakh per month for the hiked salaries and other perks of the 222 officials promoted.   

After the latest promotions, there are now 452 additional secretaries against some 120 posts, 870 joint secretaries against 350 posts and 1,234 deputy secretaries against 830 posts.

Even so, Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam, in an official order, asked the ministry officials to keep scopes for promotion of those who were either deprived or denied of promotions in the past several years.

In his instruction, he pointed out that many officials with negative reports from the National Security Intelligence (NSI) got promotion, but many having positive reports did not get it, said a ministry source.

The minister instructed the officials to formulate a policy for giving promotion and continue the process, the source added.

Ashraf's instruction came after a large number of officials who were denied promotion drew his attention. Some of them even broke down in tears, sources said.

Additional secretaries will draw salaries (Tk 66,000 basic) and other benefits under grade II. A joint secretary gets a Tk 56,000 scale and a deputy secretary Tk 50,000 scale which includes, among other things, house rent amounting to 50 percent of the basic, to be effective from July.

On average, the promoted officials will draw an additional Tk 10,000 per month.

Sources said many of the promoted officials will get posting in a day or two once Public Administration Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury returns home from Russia. But it is not certain that they will get new responsibilities.

Talking to The Daily Star yesterday, former cabinet secretary Ali Imam Majumder questioned the straining of the public exchequer if the promoted officials continued to do the same old job. He said it was not right to give such promotions when there was no post.

“Such a decision contradicts the government's own policy to strengthen the civil administration,” he said, adding that strict rules should be followed in giving promotion.

Earlier on Thursday, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam admitted that most of the promoted officials would not get new responsibilities due to a lack of vacancies in the upper tires of the bureaucracy.  

Against this backdrop, the government has made another move to promote the senior assistant secretaries of the 21st and 22nd BCS batches in the next three to four months.