Govt officials frustrated over contractual jobs
Contractual appointments of retired bureaucrats and professionals in civil service have continued to obstruct promotion and posting of regular officials to a large number of key positions, causing frustration to aspirants.
Over two hundred retirees and outsiders have been appointed to different positions, including the posts of cabinet secretary, principal secretary, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office and ambassadors in last two years by Sheikh Hasina's administration.
Many officials believe that such practices open up ways for politicisation and favouritism in the public administration and stand in the way of promotion of the serving officials.
'The government has given contractual appointments mainly to some technical positions. And the number is not so large that it might frustrate others or block their promotions,' establishment secretary Iqbal Mahmud told New Age.
Cabinet secretary M Abdul Aziz, principal secretary Md Abdul Karim, secretary to the Prime Minister's Office Molla Waheeduzzaman, chairman of the National Board of Revenue Nasiruddin Ahmed, alternative executive director to the World Bank, Kazi Md Aminul Islam, rural development and cooperatives secretary Mihir Kanti Majumder, secretary to the statistics division Riti Ibrahim, Parjatan Corporation chairman Hemayetuddin Talukder and Tariff Commission chairman Mojibur Rahman are serving on contractual basis. All of them hold the rank of secretary.
Retired bureaucrats and professionals have also been appointed on contracts to various posts under different ministries in recent days.
The government on Wednesday appointed additional secretary Nepal Chandra Sarker, who was on leave preparatory to retirement, as secretary to the Information Commission on contractual basis for one year and contractual appointment of the chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation Tulshi Das Mitra was extended for one year.
On March 13, contractual appointment of the Micro-credit Authority's vice-chairman Khandoker Mazharul Haque was extended by one year and associate professor of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases and Hospital Dr Sunil Kumar Sarker, who was on leave preparatory to retirement, was appointed on contractual basis in the same post for one year.
Contractual appointment of retired major general Manjur Ahmed as director general of the National Security Intelligence has been extended by three years from March 19, 2011 or the date of joining.
On February 10, contractual appointment of Bangladesh Television's director general Kazi Abu Zafar Mohammad Hasan Siddique was extended by one year.
On January 10, Rajshahi Krishi Bank's managing director Pradip Kumar Dutta and Power Development Board's member (production) Md Mostafa Kamal were appointed on contractual basis for one year to their present positions and their LPR was cancelled. Contractual appointment of the Criminal Investigation Department's special superintendent Abdul Kahar Akand was extended by two years from January 12, 2011.
'Retired bureaucrats have been appointed to many top positions of civil bureaucracy blocking promotion process of eligible officials…Such appointments are causing frustration among the aspirants who are serving in the same positions [without promotion] for years,' a said senior bureaucrat preferring anonymity.
A retired cabinet secretary told New Age that contractual appointments always stood in the way of promotion of others causing frustration and resentment in bureaucracy. Such appointments, he said, should be confined to the technical posts only.
'Contractual appointments opens up ways for nepotism…The government should rather extend the age limit of the public servants to 60 years from 57 to create equal opportunity for everybody,' said former adviser to the caretaker government Dhiraj Kumar Nath, who is also a retired secretary.
Retired civil and military bureaucrats have been appointed in the top positions at various organizations, including Rajdhani Unnyan Kartripakkha, Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, National Security Intelligence, Bangladesh Television, Public Works Department, Directorate of Education Engineering, Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation, Tariff Commission and Bangladesh missions abroad.
Many senior assistant secretaries while talking to New Age on the issue expressed their grievances and frustration, saying they had been in service for around 20 years without promotion; whereas the government continued to fill up important positions in bureaucracy on contractual basis depriving many others of promotion to higher ranks.
AK Abdul Momen, chairman of the Economics and Business Administration at the Framingham State College in the United States, was appointed on a two-year contract as Bangladesh ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations' headquarters in New York in August 2009.
The government earlier appointed retired army officers Manzur Ahmed on a two-year contract as director general of the National Security Intelligence, Zia Ahmed as chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and MM Iqbal as chairman of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation. Retired navy official Md Khorshed Alam was appointed as additional secretary to foreign ministry on contract.
Among the contractual appointees, former general manager of the now-defunct BTTB Mollick Sudhir Chandra was appointed as commissioner of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, industrialist Abdus Salam as chairman of Chittagong Development Authority and Kamal Lohani as director general of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy with the status of additional secretary.
Abahani Club director Syed Shahed Reza has been appointed ambassador to Kuwait and retried additional chief engineer Nurul Huda as chairman of Rajdhani Unnyan Kartipakkha.
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