Govt to amend promotion rules

The Awami League government is amending administration promotion rules, allowing evaluation of employees’ reputation and performance throughout the service career besides the annual confidential reports for promotions at all levels.
The secretary-level committee on administrative development affairs at a meeting on Wednesday approved the proposal for amendments to the promotion rules for administration cadre officials from senior assistant secretaries to additional secretaries.
‘The secretary-level committee has approved the establishment ministry’s proposal for some amendments to the rules for promotion to the levels of deputy secretary, joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary. The ranks of joint secretary and deputy secretary have been included in Rule 4 of the rules besides the ranks of additional secretary and secretary for evaluation of reputation, performance and nature of jobs all through their career for promotions,’ said an official who attended the meeting.
He said the Superior Selection Board would evaluate the reputation, performance and job nature of the aspirants besides the ACRs for recommending promotions once the ministry would issue a gazette notification to the effect.
The establishment secretary, Iqbal Mahmood, placed the draft amendments at the meeting presided over by the cabinet secretary, M Abdul Aziz.
Approached immediately after the meeting, Abdul Aziz said through his personal secretary that the meeting did not have any outcome worth mentioning to the media.
The Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led alliance government in 2002 framed the promotion rules with the similar provision which was applicable to promotions only to the levels of additional secretary and secretary.
A number of bureaucrats at various levels, talking with New Age, expressed their concerns over the change, saying the amendment would spread politicisation extensively to all levels from assistant secretary to secretary.
‘Such a provision may create scope for favouritism as the rule can be abused with political motive and politicians will get change to interfere in bureaucracy,’ former adviser to the caretaker government, Dhiraj Kumar Nath, also a retired secretary, told New Age.
He said the promotion should be based on the officials’ performance and the annual confidential reports and the evaluation system should be transparent to keep bureaucracy strong and free of political interference.
The former bureaucrat feared such changes in the promotion rules might deny capable officials their due promotion.
The secretary-level committee also approved the proposal for dividing the law, justice and parliamentary affairs ministry into two divisions — the judiciary and the legislative drafting.
Wednesday’s meeting, however, decided to form a committee to be led by additional secretary of the cabinet Zahid Hossain for the preparation of a report on the demarcation of the proposed Rangpur division after visiting Greater Rangpur and Greater Dinajpur.

Courtesy of NewAgebd