After the formation of the new government, massive changes and reshuffles are taking place at all levels of administration. Not only in public administration, there will be important changes in police administration as well. New faces will be seen in important posts.
In the meantime, the two top posts of public administration, the Cabinet Secretary and the Principal Secretary, have voluntarily resigned and new appointments have also been made there. There are indications that several secretaries, heads of many departments/agencies, and important posts including the Deputy Commissioner (DC) in field administration are going to change. Similarly, officials believe that there will be changes in the heads of various units including the top police post. Various discussions have started among the officials and employees regarding these, and many have also started running for the post.
According to the information, the controlling authority of the central and field administration will bring major changes in the Cabinet Division and the Ministry of Public Administration. Before the formation of the new government, cabinet secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid and principal secretary to the Chief Advisor M Siraj Uddin Miah, who were on contract, applied to leave the jobs voluntarily. Several other senior secretaries and senior secretaries on contract are also thinking of applying voluntarily. They are preparing to leave with honor before they are dismissed. At least 10 ministries will get new secretaries.
A day before the formation of the government led by Tarique Rahman, senior secretary of the Home Ministry, Nasimul Ghani, who was on contract, was appointed as the cabinet secretary. And the new government has appointed retired secretary ABM Abdus Sattar as the principal secretary on contract. Three officials from the Public Administration were simultaneously made the new Prime Minister's PS, APS and protocol officer. The new state minister, former bureaucrat Abdul Bari, has joined the Public Administration Ministry and is getting familiar about the overall situation from the officials.
Secretary General of the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association (BASA), an organization of administration cadre officials, and additional secretary of the Planning Commission, Md. Babul Mia told Bangladesh Pratidin, "We always want qualified people to work in qualified places. The association never lists reshuffles, it could happen earlier. We want the service to run smoothly and within the rules. There should always be an evaluation of the qualified without the scope of searching for any revenge.”
The posts of heads of various departments/organizations have been vacant for several months. In addition to filling these vacancies, the new government wants to make changes in important posts as well. It is known from multiple sources that work is also underway in this regard. The changes will be made to the post of deputy commissioner soon after the appointment of important posts including the top posts of the Secretariat.
According to the sources, a list in this regard is being prepared from the Prime Minister's Office and Public Administration. Former secretary AKM Awal Majumder said, “It is not unusual for a new government to come and make changes in public administration. However, the new BNP government should not appoint incompetent people while trying to partialism like the previous government.”
Former officials believe that skilled officials are needed in all sectors to implement the election promises of the new government. In the meantime, the activity of pro-BNP officials in the Secretariat has also increased. Many are approaching the Public Administration Minister and the chief secretary to get appointments to various important posts including the Secretary on their behalf.
Discussion of reshuffle in the police: There is a lot of discussion about who will be the top police officer, the IGP. Especially after information came to light that the current inspector general of police (IGP) Baharul Alam is voluntarily leaving the post, the issue of appointing a new IGP has come under discussion. In addition, there is a lot of discussion about the post of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner. The superintendents of police (SPs) of the districts are keeping an eye on the reshuffle of the top post. Officials say that the reshuffle of the posts of Range DIG and District SP will start immediately after the reshuffle of the top post.
According to police sources, the issue of appointing retired officers to high positions on a contractual basis is being considered. In addition, the names of at least half a dozen officers are also under discussion as the new IGP. The current IGP Baharul Alam was appointed on a contractual basis for two years on November 20, 2024. Before taking charge as the IGP, he served as the director general of RAB and the head of the Special Branch. At least a dozen officials, including a metropolitan commissioner, are in the running for the post of DMP commissioner.
Newly appointed Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said, "The police and other law enforcement agencies must quickly fulfill public expectations by earning the trust of the people."
He gave this instruction at a view-exchange meeting with the heads of various departments and organizations under the ministry at the Home Ministry's conference room at the Secretariat on Thursday. The minister also said, "We want to earn the trust of the people by restructuring the institutions under the Home Ministry and improving their ethics."
The Home Minister said, "We need a proper plan for the timely development of other law enforcement agencies, including the police."
(Translated by Lutful Hoque)
