Lobbyists swamp secretariat, hamper office works
Courtesy New Age 7/6/09
Mustafizur Rahman
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Hordes of visitors, mostly small-time political leaders and activists, trickle into Bangladesh Secretariat each working day, disrupting normal function of the country’s main seat of administration.
They come over from across the country as well as the capital. They get into the highly protected secretariat zone with valid passes issued by the authorities, or sometimes with the help of sidekicks of the ministers, or even through alleged bribing of gate-keeping security personnel.
Such motley crowd of visitors pack the waiting rooms or ante-rooms, near the ministers’ chambers or mill around in the corridors of the secretariat, waiting for their chance to see any minister or other government functionaries.
Each of them has a case to pursue or lobby for a particular project with the concerned ministers or state ministers, informed sources at the secretariat said.
‘Many of these importuning lobbyists chase their files from one room to another… often disturbing our normal work,’ said one of the officials who wanted not to be quoted.
A number of ministers and some top bureaucrats expressed their annoyance at the intruding visitors. Talking to New Age they said that on a single working day, each of them had to attend up to 100 visitors, often coming in groups, in their secretariat offices. ‘This is affecting our routine work,’ said a minister of state.
‘Obviously, such a huge number of visitors hamper my concentration in file work… But we can’t help, many of them come all the way from my remote constituency,’ he said, adding that if those people could get their work done smoothly at the respective district offices, the number of visitors to the secretariat would be far less.
During a visit to the secretariat this past week, this correspondent found that a good number of the visitors were pro-Awami League student leaders lounging at the waiting rooms or loitering in the corridors of such ministries like communications, housing and public works, LGRD and cooperatives, home affairs, education, and power and energy. And they were there although it was a Thursday, a ‘no-visitors’ day.
An officer at the food and disaster management ministry said that most people come there from Tangail with requests for transfer or postings, although that was not the job of the ministry.
A large number of visitors thronged the education ministry, many of them carrying letters from the local MPs or ministers, requesting for having their new schools or colleges included in MPO (monthly payment order) list. One officer said there is instance that one of the ministers had by the time issued around 50-60 recommendations to the education ministry seeking MPOs.
The police and the members of Armed Police Battalion nowadays find it tough to manage the rush of visitors at the secretariat gates. Often the members of parliament escort five/six persons without valid entry passes.
‘How can we carry out our responsibility if the Members of Parliament do not cooperate with us… Sometimes lawmakers abuse the on duty policemen whenever they try to stop unauthorised entry of their sidekicks into the secretariat,’ said a police officer posted at a secretariat gate.
It is alleged that officials concerned, specially the personal staff of the ministers, issue special passes beyond their limit to allow the visitors to enter the secretariat even in the morning hours when ordinary visitors are not allowed.
Apart from politicians and lawmakers, businessmen having political links or background, are also seen meeting ministers and state ministers to pursue different opportunities in trade and commerce.
An officer at the establishment ministry said the office of the prime minister’s adviser for establishment and administrative affairs is always filled with visitors, most of them government officers and lawmakers trying to pursue transfers and postings.
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