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A review committee of the interim government of Bangladesh has recommended that around 750 former officials in the public administration be given ‘retrospective promotions’, considering them to have been deprived during the previous government’s tenure.

Some analysts say that it would be positive if impartial officials who were honest and efficient and did not get promotions during the previous government’s tenure could be selected and promoted based on their past.

Others say that even if they are promoted based on their past, providing financial benefits for the time they did not work may be questionable. They also fear that if such an opportunity is given once, it may create opportunities for abuse in the future.

On September 16, the government formed a review committee to review the applications of retired officials who were deprived of promotions. That committee submitted its report to Chief Advisor Professor Muhammad Yunus on Tuesday.

However, it is not yet certain what action the government will take on this report or whether the officials who have been recommended for promotion based on merit will also get the financial benefits of the past days.

The head of the committee, former secretary Dr. Zakir Ahmed Khan, says that they have made their recommendations based on many factors. Zakir Khan is a former alternate executive director of the World Bank.

He says that many things have been reviewed, starting from the hardships of the service life of those who have applied. We have analyzed all the considerations and made recommendations. Now the government will decide what to do next. Even whether they will get financial benefits or not is a matter for the government.

Incidentally, although there are occasional examples of appointment or promotion based on merit in Bangladesh, if such a large number of officials are given such promotions, it will be an unprecedented event. Based on merit, it means taking effect in advance.

However, public administration expert Firoz Mia says that it would be better for the administration if honest, qualified and efficient officials who were not promoted according to the rules in the past could be selected and promoted instead of being promoted.

On the other hand, former senior secretary Abu Alam Mohammad Shahid Khan says that those who have been deprived can be taken into consideration, but it is also true that discipline has not yet returned to the administration. As a result, different people are coming forward with different demands, which should be decided after careful consideration and implementation.

What the report says-

After the application review committee submitted its report to the chief advisor, the chief advisor’s press wing said in a press conference on Tuesday that the committee had received applications from 1,540 people and after scrutinizing these applications, they recommended 764 people for promotion with benefits before retirement.

This includes officials from the secretary to the deputy secretary level. The government will now take necessary action after reviewing the recommendations.

The list includes officials from the secretary to the deputy secretary level who were ‘deprived and forced to retire’ from 2009 to August 4, 2024.

Earlier, when the review committee was formed in September, Public Administration Secretary Mukhles Ur Rahman had said that all the officials who were deprived due to 16 years of deprivation have been mentally oppressed. They have been deprived in various ways, socially, familially, and many have been financially deprived.

It is learned that among those for whom the review committee has recommended promotion before retirement, there are 119 secretaries and 528 additional secretaries.

Who is deprived

The government has said that the government will take action as per the recommendations of the review committee and therefore it is expected that 764 people who will get promotions will get promotions with financial benefits. Out of these, those who have the opportunity to return to work will come, while the rest will remain retired.

When contacted to find out what kind of officials have applied and what their statements were, some former officials mentioned some examples.

For example, an officer of the 11th batch of BCS retired as an additional secretary. He stated in his application that twenty-one people below him in the merit list of his batch had become secretaries. But he was not made a secretary.

Again, another officer who retired as a joint secretary has applied for promotion as a senior secretary, claiming that he was deprived of promotion at least five times in his service life.

Earlier, after the formation of the interim government led by Professor Muhammad Yunus, about 350 officials were promoted from senior assistant secretaries to joint secretaries within two weeks.

During the previous Awami League government, 117 officials were promoted to the post of deputy secretary on August 13, considering them ‘deprived’.

Again, at least five people have been brought back from retirement and appointed as senior secretaries on a contractual basis. They were previously known in the administration as trusted people of the government during the BNP period.

How logical is the initiative

If these officials are given promotions with financial benefits as recommended by the review committee, the government will have to spend a large amount of money for them and there are also questions about how logical it will be.

It is learned that after the Awami League government came to power in 2009, officials who were deprived of various opportunities including promotions during the previous BNP government demanded promotions with benefits, but the government did not agree to give it. Even after some of them went to court, the government opposed it.

This time, after the fall of the Awami League government, many officials have been dismissed or relieved from their jobs, considering them trustworthy during that government.

Abu Alam Shahid Khan says that even though promotions were given earlier, the concerned officials did not get the salary allowance for the time when they were not in service. Now, it is being said that they will be given it.

He says, but suppose someone retires as a joint secretary. Now, if he is made secretary after ten years, how will he get the benefits for the position in which he did not serve in the meantime? “The government must review these,” he told BBC Bangla.

Abu Alam Shahid Khan says that it is true that these officials have been deprived and the country’s politics and system are responsible for this deprivation. That is why some in a batch have been deprived while others have received additional benefits.

He says that in some cases, a junior official may have been promoted and moved to his senior position. It is also true that not everyone in a batch will be a secretary. Not all those who will not be are deprived either. But if there is injustice, it must be remedied.

Despite these challenges, former additional secretary and public administration expert Firoz Mia calls the decision to give promotions to deprived officials with benefits positive.

He says that those who have been deprived have some political reasons. Most of them were relatively neutral. They did not do the same thing under the previous government. Now that they have been promoted, the same thing will decrease under future governments.

According to him, if the officials think that they have been deprived by working with honesty and impartiality, the government will compensate them later. The interest in working with professionalism will also increase.

Firoz Mia says, it should be remembered that those who have been deprived and have not been promoted, lost their jobs or have been forced to retire, and their families, have had their social status destroyed. They have the right to regain their dignity.

However, analysts believe that the government should definitely consider the applications of honest, qualified and impartial officials in providing such opportunities.

This expert says, otherwise it can become harmful. It should not happen that we have to give benefits now just because BNP did it before. The only criteria for promotion should be honesty, efficiency and impartiality.

Source: BBC Bangla

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