Padma Bridge is a turning point for Bangladesh and 'I am part of its history', says Mosharraf

Before his job was embroiled in international controversy, former Secretary to the Bridges Division Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan was directly involved in the construction of the Padma Bridge - from initial design to choosing contractors.

Mosharraf was at the centre of the World Bank’s allegations of corruption over appointing supervising consultants for the project and was accused and arrested as the prime suspect of a case pressured into being by the international financial organisation.

The Bangladesh government eventually decided to undertake the crucial project with its own finances and Mosharraf was acquitted in the case several years later.

Mosharraf, who feels “proud” to have been involved in the project, believes the government’s decisive move after that tumultuous phase of the project is “a turning point” for the country.

Mosharraf, who is the incumbent Bangladesh ambassador to Germany, spoke to bdnews24.com about what happened during the intense phase that led up to that monumental decision.

“Financing the construction of the Padma Bridge is a turning point of Bangladesh and the credit for that solely goes to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” he said.

“The decision she took was brave. If it failed, the construction of the bridge would have been cancelled. But her decisiveness gave Bangladesh the ability to finance such a huge project by itself. Now that the world sees the bridge is complete, it adds to Bangladesh’s credit.”

“I think people would not have remembered me as they do now if I had not gone through what I did and was transferred as usually happens in government jobs. Everyone remembers the turmoil I faced while working in the Bridges Division and the tough times I went through.”

“I feel great that my name and what I suffered is part of the history of the bridge.”

An economics graduate from Dhaka University and a recruit for the Bangladesh Civil Service in the batch of 1981, Mosharraf was appointed as the acting secretary to the Bridges Division, then under the communications ministry, in February 2010.

In July of the same year, he was promoted to secretary.

In September 2011, the World Bank suspended Bangladesh’s loan request following complaints that two officials of Canadian company SNC-Lavalin Inc had engaged in bribery to secure a contract during Mosharraf’s tenure as secretary.

In November that year, the government appointed Mosharraf as the executive chairman of a special economic zone and later in July 2012, he was made an officer on special duty or OSD.

In December that year, the Anti-Corruption Commission started a case accusing him and six others of deliberately appointing SNC-Lavalin as a consultant for the Padma Bridge in exchange for bribes.

The High Court rejected Mosharraf’s bail petition and the ACC arrested him from Shahbagh soon after. The government suspended him in January the following year but he secured bail a month later.

His suspension order haunted him for five more months.

“They attempted to follow the moves prescribed by the World Bank as they tried to hold Bangladesh responsible. Initially, the ACC officials said they lacked information to start a case,” he said.

“But it dawned on me later that the investigation officers were under pressure and prepared a case for me to satisfy the World Bank.”

The World Bank was displeased that former communications minister Syed Abul Hossain’s name was dropped from the case, but it did not ask to jail the accused, he added.

“The ACC made the move as an enthusiastic show to the World Bank to reassure them that they were doing a good job. So they arrested me and two others.”

“We were then subjected to unspeakable hardship. The prime minister was very irked that a secretary was arrested without her knowledge. It's fine that they’ve filed a case, but let that run its course.”

“I was in jail for about 40 days. Words can’t do justice to the suffering. It invited scrutiny of my family’s honour. I had to face it all.”

After returning to the government, Mosharraf was made a member of the Privatisation Commission.

The ACC filed its final investigation report in September 2014, acquitting the accused of all charges after finding “no evidence of corruption or conspiracy” against them.

After the Padma Bridge corruption case was closed, Mosharraf was given the job to helm the industries ministry in October 2014. He was promoted to senior secretary in April 2016, with a little over two months left to go as a civil servant.

Bhuiyan was supposed to go on post-retirement leave on Jun 30, 2016, as a senior secretary at the Ministry of Industries, but the government extended his job on a one-year contract, a day before his exit.

He was then appointed as the NBR chairman for the next two years before the government sent him off to Germany.
Mosharraf said he had to stay out of the ministry for almost three years and was able to make up for lost time because of the prime minister’s compassion.

“I was able to show my skills thanks to the prime minister. She gave me a designation. When someone loses their way in civil services, that person can’t get back up again. I think I was reinstated through the mercy of Allah and the prayers of the people.”

Mosharraf, who was present during the launch of Padma Bridge’s construction, said, “The prime minister said that I must be invited to the inauguration of the bridge in particular. I will be there.”

Mosharraf has written a book on his involvement in the Padma Bridge and the events surrounding it, titled “Padma Bridge: Triumph of Honesty & Confidence”. It has been published by Vidya Publications.

[Written in English by Syed Mahmud Onindo; edited by Shoumik Hassin]