The government yesterday went on a promotion spree in the civil administration by elevating 182 senior assistant secretaries to the post of deputy secretary.
The Ministry of Public Administration issued an order promoting the 182 officials. Another 20 senior assistant secretaries, who are on deputation or on lien, also will get promotions once they return to their jobs.
This will be the final-round promotion in the civil administration ahead of the next parliamentary elections, said sources at Bangladesh Secretariat.
Most of those promoted to deputy secretary are from the 17 and 18 batches of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) while some are from previous batches, said the sources. The number of deputy secretaries thus rises to 1,727.
In February last year, 258 senior assistant secretaries were promoted to the rank.
The Public Administration ministry working over the last three months prepared a list of senior assistant secretaries for promotion.
The Superior Selection Board (SSB) held a series of meetings in recent weeks to scrutinise the list.
An official involved in the promotion said the SSB would hold more meetings to recommend the names of officers for promotion to the positions of joint secretary and additional secretary.
The initial plan was to give promotions simultaneously at all the tiers — deputy secretary, joint secretary, additional secretary and secretary — of the administration. But the government recently decided to give promotions in phases, starting with the senior assistant secretary.
“We will give promotion at all levels of the administration in phases,” Abdus Sobhan Sikder, Senior Secretary of the Public Administration Ministry, told The Daily Star yesterday.
“We are promoting the officials whose promotions remained pending for quite sometime,” he said, claiming there was no other reason behind the promotion.
Asked about rearrangements in the administration through transfer and posting of officials, he said those who had been in the same position for three years or more would be transferred gradually.
Sobhan said two joint secretaries who are now posted as deputy secretary in Sylhet and Rajshahi would be transferred soon.
Meanwhile, many officials are busy lobbying with influential quarters in the bureaucracy and the ruling party for promotions by ignoring their office duties.
The fresh promotions have gone underway although there is no vacant post for them in the organogram.
Before yesterday’s promotion, the number of deputy secretaries was 1,527 against 830 approved posts as set in the organogram.
In addition, there are around 625 joint secretaries against 250 formally approved posts and about 252 additional secretaries against 108 posts.
In the last wholesale promotion on February 8, 2012, a total of 649 officers, mostly from the administration cadre, were promoted to the ranks of additional secretary, joint secretary and deputy secretary beyond the approved posts in the formal structure of administration.
Source: The Daily Star
