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Download PDF The next caretaker government will have to initiate a massive reshuffle to depoliticise the civil administration to ensure a level playing field for the upcoming election as a large-scale of promotions and appointments to key posts are allegedly being carried out by the present government on political considerations.
In wake of the prevailing situation in the civil administration, former advisers to caretaker governments think that the interim government will face an uphill task to be done in a short time, the volume of which will exceed the records of previous caretaker governments.
With less than three months left of the BNP-led ruling alliance’s tenure and for the approaching general election, the government has allegedly gone for large-scale promotions and appointments on ‘political considerations’ virtually turning the civil administration into a political administration.
Moreover, keeping the next election in mind, the government is now initiating various measures like preparing a fitness list and waiting list for appointments to 700 posts related to election activities, ranging from the top level to field level administrations, sources said.
The measures will benefit the alliance government, as the next caretaker government will not be able to dismantle the freshly dissolved alliance government’s comprehensive control on the administration. The removal of one official will only mean assumption of the post by another official loyal to the four-party alliance, and the situation is the same from the top to the bottom levels of the administration, noted many former and serving bureaucrats.
If the caretaker government initiates steps for reshuffling the administration, it will have to appoint present secretaries or additional secretaries to some vital ministries and divisions like the ministry of home affairs, law justice and parliamentary affairs, establishment, defence, information, Election Commission Secretariat, and the president’s office.
The alliance government is already preparing a list of senior officials who will be appointed as joint secretaries and additional secretaries to these ministries and divisions.
It is also preparing a guideline for appointments of divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, additional deputy commissioners and upazila nirbahi officers (UNOs). The deputy commissioners are usually appointed as returning officers and UNOs are appointed as assistant returning officers to conduct parliament elections.
The present government has not only changed the rules for contractual appointments and promotions several times to benefit the officers loyal to the ruling parties, but also violated those repeatedly when it felt it necessary for the same reason.
The practice that began during past governments has become rampant since the four-party alliance took over the administration. The aim is to leave behind an administration, which will serve the alliance during the caretaker government.
“The caretaker government will have to initiate massive reshuffling to create a level playing field so that none can manipulate the election. I think, the volume of the task will be larger than previous times as the administration has been politicised on a large scale this time around,” former adviser to a caretaker government M Hafizuddin Khan told The Daily Star yesterday.
Echoing the same view, another former adviser to a caretaker government ASM Shajahan said the next caretaker government will have to give the highest priority to creating a level playing field for all participants in the election. “To ensure it, the caretaker government will also have to review the last moment appointments in the civil administration. It will have to neutralise some last moment decisions that can influence the election,” he told The Daily Star.
He said the volume of the task will not be less than previous times. “I think, the volume will be larger this time.”
Incidents of creating OSDs (officers on special duty), contractual appointments, and violation of rules have surpassed all previous records, so has the number of those who have been deprived of due promotions.
Currently the number of OSDs is over 350 and contractual appointments over 200, while about 500 did not get due promotions.
About the contractual appointments Hafizuddin said most of the officials have been awarded with appointments on political considerations.
“Besides, most of the deputy commissioners (DC) and superintendents of police (SP) were appointed on political considerations. So, the caretaker government will have to bring changes in local administrations as they will be directly involved with the election,” he added.
“The first and foremost duty of a caretaker government is to assist the Election Commission to conduct an election in a free and fair manner by creating a level playing field,” ASM Shajahan asserted. “To do this, the next caretaker government will have to do everything,” he added.
Besides, the caretaker government will have to ameliorate the grudges of those officials who have been deprived of due promotions for politicisation of the administration, said Hafizuddin, also former comptroller and auditor general.
“Aggrieved officials lobby the caretaker government to get their due promotions. It is true some officials are victimised in the administration due to politics,” he said referring to his experience.
In the past, all elected governments left the office arranging the administration according to their choices in bids to get benefits in elections during interim caretaker governments.
Such measures adopted by outgoing elected governments forced interim governments to reshuffle the administration to create a level playing field for elections.
The caretaker government headed by Justice Latifur Rahman in 2001 transferred and appointed afresh a total of 491 officials and officers in charge (OC) to all police stations. Of the transferred officials 22 were secretaries or of equivalent posts, 11 additional secretaries, 29 joint secretaries, 67 deputy secretaries, six divisional commissioners, and 10 deputy commissioners (DC). It also made fresh appointments to 30 posts of DCs and 111 of UNOs.
A total of 360 officials were either transferred or appointed afresh to different vital posts during the caretaker government led by Justice Habibur Rahman in 1996 while the number of transferred and re-appointed officials was 491 during the first interim government led by Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed in 1991.
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