The Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council blames promotions from administration cadre for delays in budget execution
Published : 18 Jan 2025, 07:10 PM
The quota system for administration cadres in promotions to deputy secretaries is allowing “incompetent” and “inexperienced” people to take leadership roles in ministries, Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council Coordinator Md Mofizur Rahman has said.
At a seminar at the Krishibid Institution of Bangladesh auditorium in Dhaka on Saturday noon, he said: “Due to quota-based promotions, no work is done in the first nine months of the fiscal year.
“In the remaining three months, funds are quickly spent, causing the public to face losses instead of receiving services.”
The seminar titled “Expected Civil Service for Fulfilling Public Aspirations” was organized by the council, which has long campaigned to abolish the quota system in promotions to deputy secretaries.
Mofizur said, "We have engaged with people from different levels of society about the issue of discrimination against our 25 cadres. We have met some advisors multiple times.
However, the Public Administration Reform Commission, which is responsible for our work, has not contacted us."
He also criticised the formation of the commission, which he believes is biased towards the administration cadre.
“We objected when the commission was formed because it was made up of members from the administration cadre. We feared that a commission with a bias would not be able to bring about positive change.
"However, we did not want to create difficulties for the government. We hoped to work with the commission for a better solution."
The officer from the 24th batch of the education cadre added, "There are 26 cadres in the civil service, and each cadre should work based on its expertise.
“But we have noticed that one cadre is overseeing all others, solving every issue based on incompetence and inexperience. As a result, the state has never been able to provide public services effectively."
The council coordinator also criticised the delays in budget execution.
Mofizur said, "In this country, only 5 percent of the annual budget is utilised in the first nine months. After the nine-month mark, the directive is to spend the remaining funds.
“This happens because senior officials in ministries have no experience in the relevant work.”
He concluded, “They constantly write 'Review this, check this' and after wasting nine months, the funds are spent in the final three months."