Hasina urges an end to red tape to mark the day of public service

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged all government officials to get rid of red tape and ensure proper public services for all people.

The prime minister made the remarks during an awards ceremony at Dhaka’s Osmani Memorial Auditorium to mark Public Service Day on Monday.

“There was a time in Bangladesh when government employees would receive their wages with or without doing any work. This is not acceptable now,” she said.

“We heard stories of the red tape used for binding administrative files at government offices. They became a symbol of bureaucracy. Now ‘white tape’ is being used to bind those files.”

“Red tape still exists. End these bureaucratic problems as quickly as possible.”    

Hasina also urged government officials to perform their job with more sincerity.

She also instructed them to think about the well-being of people before submitting any project to the government, she said,

“Useless projects have also been submitted, which might be ineffective or have no impact on public welfare at all.”

Hasina advised the government officials to attach greater attention to the grassroots.

“We have to remember that poor people are contributing to our life. Our wages, allowances and comforts are the results of their tax.”

She also promised to continue development.

According to the General Assembly (GA) of the United Nations, Public Service Day has been celebrated on Jun 23 of every year since 2003.

The government created the ‘Public Service Award’ as recognition and inspiration of government officials’ work in 2016.

The government had also declared Jul 23 National Public Service Day in Bangladesh.

This year, 12 government officials and two institutions have received the medals on the national stage. The prime minister has handed over the medals, crests and certificates to the winners.

Twenty-seven employees at the district level and one institution also received the ‘Public Administration Award’.