The ruling Awami League government has appointed a large number of retired civil and military officials as well as other professionals to key government positions, frustrating many serving officials.
About 200 administrative posts are now occupied by the retirees and outsiders, which the serving bureaucrats claimed blocked their promotions and posting to the positions they yearned for long.
The number of contractual appointees was around 115 a year ago.
The deprived officers denounced the practice saying too many contractual appointments provide scope for nepotism and politicisation of the civil service.
Cabinet Secretary M Abdul Aziz, Principal Secretary to the prime minister MA Karim, Secretary to the Prime Minister's Office Molla Waheduzzaman, Secretary of Statistics Division Riti Ibrahim and Secretary of Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Mihir Kanti Majumder are top officials on contractual service.
Chairman of National Board of Revenue Ahmed Nasiruddin, Alternative Executive Director of World Bank Kazi Md Aminul Islam, Chairman of Bangladesh Parjaton Corporation Hemayetuddin Talukder, Tariff Commission Chairman Mojibur Rahman, all holding the rank of a secretary, have also got contractual appointments, according to sources in the establishment ministry.
The government on Wednesday cancelled the leave preparatory to retirement of Nepal Chandra Sarker and gave him a contract as secretary of the Information Commission. On the same day, Chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation Tulsi Das Mitra got an extension to his contract for another year.
Maj Gen (retd) Motiur Ahmed also got his service contract extended for three years as director general of National Security Intelligence while the DG of Bangladesh Television Kazi Abu Zafar Mohammad Hasan Siddique got one more year in job.
Retired bureaucrats have also been nominated for top positions at Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (Rajuk), Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Public Works Department, Directorate of Education Engineering and Bangladesh missions abroad.
Bangladesh Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York AK Abdul Momen is serving a contractual period while Commodore (retd) Md Khorshed Alam is on a three-year contract as additional secretary at the foreign affairs ministry.
The contractual appointees also include BTRC Chairman Maj Gen (retd) Zia Ahmed, its member Mollick Sudhir Chandra, industrialist Abdus Salam as chairman of Chittagong Development Authority, Kamal Lohani as DG of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Abahani Limited's Director Syed Shahed Reza as ambassador to Kuwait, Gias Uddin as ambassador to Germany and Nurul Huda as chairman of Rajuk.
The extension proposal of Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation Chairman Maj (retd) MM Iqbal is under consideration.
The government should discourage contractual appointments, observed Akbar Ali Khan, former adviser to a caretaker government.
"The officials in service lose their morale as contractual appointments block their promotion and posting," he told The Daily Star.
The government should limit contractual posts to some technical areas where it does not have an adequate number of qualified people, added Akbar, also former cabinet secretary.
Asked about the increasing number of contractual jobs, Establishment Secretary Iqbal Mahmud claimed such appointments were given to some technical posts only.
Official statistics, however, show a different picture as many non-technical posts are filled on contract basis.
Talking to The Daily Star, many serving bureaucrats expressed grievances over appointing a large number of ex-bureaucrats to so many high-ranking posts.
Though inefficient, many of the contractual appointees were chosen on political consideration, they alleged.
"Contractual appointment is a common practice worldwide for better service. But excessive contractual appointments of chosen officers to key positions in the name of better performance has been a practice in Bangladesh," observed a senior official of the establishment ministry.
He said the serving officials will lose interest in their jobs if the government depends more on the retirees.
Some officers believe political governments get opportunity for contractual appointments due to the declining standard of civil bureaucrats.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 02:24 AM GMT+06:00 (140 weeks ago)
Since both the parties (AL & BNP) do the same practice, it's better make contractual appointment a regular process of appointment. Let all the posts of Grade I & II be reserved for contractual appointment. Govt servants in grade III, retirees and candidates having similar experience outside govt will be considered for these posts.