Mass promotion in civil administration

200 deputy secretaries to become joint secretaries

13 July 2013, 18:28 PM

UPDATED 14 July 2013, 09:46 AM

M Abul Kalam Azad

The government is set to give promotion to around 200 deputy secretaries to the rank of joint secretary this week although the number of joint secretaries has already doubled the approved 250 posts. The Ministry of Public Administration last week sent a summary to the Prime Minister's Office containing names of the officials to be promoted. “The summary did not get the nod as the prime minister was on an overseas trip. It is expected to be approved soon,” said a senior official of the ministry asking not to be identified. Currently, there are 625 joint secretaries, many of whom are holding the previous office even after being elevated to this rank one and a half years ago. Sources in the bureaucracy say the fresh promotion move is apparently aimed at making bureaucrats happy ahead of next parliamentary polls. Public Administration Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder has however termed it a routine job, saying many officials deserved the promotion. The Superior Selection Board, headed by Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, prepared the summary after scrutinising around 600 aspirants from three batches -- 84, 85 and 86 -- of Bangladesh Civil Service. Many of the 400 deputy secretaries of 84 and 85 batches, who were earlier left out, are supposed to be promoted this time. A number of officials of the 86th batch will also see their ranks elevated. This is going to be the second round of promotion in the final year of the Awami League-led government. In the first phase, 182 senior assistant secretaries were promoted to the rank of deputy secretary on March 14 this year. The sources say the civil administration would see another round of promotion in September-October in which a number of joint secretaries would be made additional secretaries. In case of the post of additional secretary 250 officials have outstripped the number of 108 approved posts. Several additional secretaries may also become secretary before the government's tenure expires. The rank of deputy secretary is also burdened with a plethora of officials. The approved posts for deputy secretary are 830, whereas 1,527 officials are holding the position. The civil administration saw several promotion sprees since the AL-led government assumed office in January 2009. The first came in September 2009 when 60 joint secretaries, 163 deputy secretaries and 271 senior assistant secretaries were promoted. In another wholesale promotion on February 8, 2012, 649 officers were promoted to the ranks of additional secretary, joint secretary and deputy secretary beyond the approved posts in the formal structure of the administration. In giving promotion, officials inclined to the ruling party and with strong lobbying have been considered. In this process some ineligible officials got their position elevated, while some eligible ones were left out. This has caused rifts in the civil administration and frustration among the officials who deserved promotion. Abdus Sobhan Sikder said the number of promotion aspirants is much bigger than the number of posts. “We are trying to give promotion gradually to all the eligible officers,” he told The Daily Star.