Public administration yet to break free from contract appointments

Seven secretaries appointed on contract after BNP took office

Since taking office, the government has appointed at least seven officials as secretaries or equivalent rank on contract. One secretary has been sent into compulsory retirement, another has been made OSD, and several others have been removed from their posts and attached to the Ministry of Public Administration. The contracts of nine secretaries appointed during the interim administration have also been cancelled.

According to sources at the Ministry of Public Administration, the administration currently has 65 secretaries, of whom 16 are serving on contract.

After assuming office, the government appointed several retired officials as secretaries on one-year contracts in key ministries. Four such appointments were made in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Local Government Division, the Health Services Division and the Secondary and Higher Education Division.

A retired official was also appointed secretary of the Ministry of Religious Affairs on contract. Former secretary ABM Abdus Sattar has been appointed principal secretary to the prime minister on contract.

Meanwhile, the government sent Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian into compulsory retirement while he was serving as secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture. Rehana Parveen, secretary of the Secondary and Higher Education Division, was made an officer on special duty.

Several senior officials in the administration, speaking to TBS on condition of anonymity, said the government appears to rely on contract appointments to place trusted individuals in key positions, creating discontent among a section of senior officials.

Administrative experts say that while contract appointments are allowed in special circumstances, making them routine can weaken the normal promotion structure within the civil service. This may create frustration among career officials.

Not a new practice

Contract appointments are not new in Bangladesh’s public administration. Under the Government Service Act 2018, the government may reappoint retired officials on contract if necessary.

However, analysts say political trust often receives more importance than administrative experience in such appointments. Over the past decade, the Awami League government also appointed several retired additional secretaries and secretaries to key ministries on contract.

Impact on the administration

The practice has long faced criticism within the bureaucracy. The Public Administration Reform Commission, formed during the interim administration, also discouraged contract-based appointments in its report.

Officials from the Ministry of Public Administration say such appointments create several problems. First, they disrupt the normal promotion chain within the civil service, as appointing a retired official to a secretary post blocks promotion opportunities for several officials below.

Second, it can create frustration among regular officers who may find their prospects of reaching top positions uncertain despite years of service.

Third, experts warn that the professional structure of the administration may weaken if officials are appointed to key posts without relevant experience in the ministry concerned.

Why governments rely on the practice

Public administration analysts say governments often seek to maintain control over key bureaucratic positions. As a result, they prefer to appoint individuals they trust to important posts.

Retired officials or those considered politically reliable are sometimes appointed on contract to create what analysts describe as a trusted administrative structure. However, they warn that such practices may weaken the institutional and professional structure of the civil service in the long term.

Public administration expert Firoz Mia told TBS that expectations of administrative reform often rise after a change of government, but in practice the previous patterns tend to continue.

He said the provision for contract appointments exists so experienced individuals can be used in exceptional or innovative areas, but governments increasingly use this provision to place trusted individuals in key positions.

“If transparent and rule-based promotion systems are not strengthened, the administrative structure may weaken in the future,” he said.

Firoz Mia also noted that the current government may have practical reasons for some contract appointments.

“The government inherited an administrative vacuum after taking office. It may take time to identify capable officials. Contract appointments may therefore be used as a short-term solution,” he said, adding that appointments based on political considerations or those that create frustration among serving officials should be avoided.

Changes in other institutions

The government has also cancelled several contracts outside public administration. The cancellation of the contract of Bangladesh Bank Governor Ahsan H Mansur has drawn significant attention. Following that development, the chairman of Sonali Bank’s board resigned voluntarily.

The chairman and two commissioners of the Anti-Corruption Commission resigned about a week ago. The vice-chancellor of Dhaka University and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) Managing Director Abdus Salam Bepari also stepped down.

Amid the broader administrative reshuffle, the home ministry issued a notification on 9 March sending five additional inspectors general of police into compulsory retirement in a single day.

They are Abu Hasan Muhammad Tariq, Abdul Alim Mahmud, Masudur Rahman Bhuiyan, Additional IG of the Naval Police Kusum Dewan and Principal of the Sardah Police Academy Tawfique Mahbub Chowdhury.

In separate notifications issued on Monday, they were sent into compulsory retirement from government service.

The government also withdrew the dismissal order of former Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Md Kohinoor Mian yesterday. He had been dismissed from service in February 2011. The home ministry said the 15-year period of his dismissal would be counted as service, and he would receive the corresponding benefits.