Posts do not exist, still 332 more promoted

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The government yesterday promoted 332 senior assistant secretaries to the post of deputy secretary even though there are no vacant positions for them in the administration.

The BNP-led alliance government, during the last few years, placed over 300 deputy secretaries as officer on special duty (OSD) on political grounds.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia approved the new promotion list on Saturday night before her departure to Saudi Arabia. She, however, made slight changes in the list and the establishment ministry issued the circular yesterday.

Many officers, who were not promoted timely and other officers eligible for promotion, were fearing that they would not be promoted due to politicisation in picking process of the promotion candidates.

However, a number of officers eligible for promotion were deprived of promotion again and have been excluded from the list.

Earlier Superior Service Selection Board (SSB) recommended 352 senior assistant secretaries to be promoted to the post of deputy secretary.

The prime minister approved the promotions at the fag end of her government’s tenure but many officers from the ‘82 to ‘84 batches were left in the cold.

Sources said dissident officers who did not get promotion met the establishment secretary and the cabinet secretary yesterday to protest.

Terming the process of promotion illegal, they demanded a commission be formed to identify and investigate those who were involved in the process, sources said.

Sources said more than 600 deputy secretaries have now OSD status after the promotion of the 332 senior assistant secretaries. The government promoted the senior assistant secretaries just to ensure the promotion of two assistant private secretaries (APS) to the prime minister, they alleged.

However, the promotion of 131 senior assistant secretaries, among the 332 promoted, had been due for two to three years but the government did not approve their promotion timely allegedly considering their political views.

During the last five years, around 1595 officials were promoted to the post of deputy secretary, 532 to joint secretary, 201 to additional secretary and another 76 to secretary.

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