The government has decided to promote at least 250 bureaucrats in the ranks of deputy secretary, joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary, within the shortest possible time. This is part of reforms in the civil administration before the next parliamentary election. The Superior Selection Board (SSB), responsible for recommending promotion for government officials, held a meeting at the office of the cabinet secretary on Wednesday. Cabinet secretary M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan was in the chair. The SSB recommended that a number of deputy secretaries should be promoted to the rank of joint secretary, a senior official of the public administration ministry told The Independent. He said other officials too would be recommended for promotion.
So far, the government has promoted about 1,700 officers in the ranks of deputy secretary, joint secretary, additional secretary, secretary and the senior secretary, in many cases bypassing the seniority factor.
It is also alleged that the public administration ministry did not promote a number of officials for their inclination towards the BNP-Jamaat group.
Due to uncontrolled promotions, a total of 1,677 officials, in the ranks of additional secretary, joint secretary and the deputy secretary, are in surplus in the civil administration. They are requesting the higher authorities for new postings.
A total of 70 secretaries and acting secretaries are now working against 73 duty posts, while 247 additional secretaries are working against 110 posts. A total of 622 joint secretaries are working in different ministries and divisions, against 341 sanctioned posts, while 1,665 deputy secretaries are working against 828 sanctioned posts.
At the same time, 1,433 senior assistant secretaries are working against 2,340 sanctioned posts and 903 assistant secretaries are working against 1,870 sanctioned posts in the civil administration.
-With The Independent input
