According to public administration-related experts at that time, the position was essentially created to form a group of loyal bureaucrats and reward them. The mastermind behind the creation of this position was the late HT Imam.
After the Awami League came to power in 2009, the privileges of loyal bureaucrats were greatly increased. Those bureaucrats who played a role in advancing the political interests of the then government were rewarded with various honors. HT Imam was informally given the responsibility of controlling the bureaucrats.
At that time, HT Imam, the former CSP officer and advisor on the ministry of public administration to the then Prime Minister, influenced the government to create the senior secretary position. According to secretaries working in various government ministries at that time, HT Imam created a political identity-based database of bureaucrats with a few pro-Awami bureaucrats.
Afterward, many top-ranked officials were excluded from promotions. Meanwhile, officials with lower ranks in terms of merit were promoted. On January 9, 2012, the senior secretary position was created through an executive order, and loyalists were appointed. With his interest and advice, HT Imam suggested creating these positions to reward loyal bureaucrats. At the same time, these bureaucrats were given extended service terms, contract-based appointments, and various other privileges.
The position of senior secretary was placed below the cabinet secretary and chief secretary, but above the position of secretary. However, according to state protocol, there is no existence of the senior secretary position.
When the senior secretary position was added in 2012, Muhammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan served as the cabinet secretary. When asked about the context of that time, he told Bonik Barta, "The decision to create the senior secretary position was a policy matter of the government. It was created with the approval of the then Prime Minister, the proposal from the ministry of public administration, and consent from the finance ministry. However, when the cluster proposal was made, it was not approved."
In the first phase, the eight bureaucrats who were given the status of senior secretary were Mohammad Tareque, the then secretary of the ministry of finance; Sheikh Altaf Ali, secretary of the ministry of water resources; Begum Rokeya Sultana, a member of the privatization commission; Abdus Sobhan Sikder, secretary of the ministry of public administration; Humayun Kabir, secretary of the ministry of health; Md Ashraful Mokbul, secretary of the ministry of textiles and jute; Iqbal Mahmood, secretary of the economic relations division; and CQK Mustaq Ahmed, secretary of the ministry of agriculture. Most of them were known as loyal bureaucrats of HT Imam. After the end of their careers, Sheikh Hasina rewarded some of them by being appointed to various important state positions.
Among them, Sheikh Altaf Ali was appointed a Bangladesh public service commission (PSC) member. Abdus Sobhan Sikder was sent to Italy as the ambassador after his regular career. At the same time, he was made Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and the World Food Programme (WFP) in Rome. Md. Ashraful Mokbul was made the chairman of the board of directors of state-owned Sonali Bank. Initially, Iqbal Mahmood was the alternate executive director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Later, he was appointed chairman of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC). Afterward, he was appointed the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) chairman with the status of an appellate division judge.
A high-ranking official of the then government, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained to Bonik Barta the context behind creating the senior secretary position. He said, "During the caretaker government, a process was started to create a law called the Civil Service Act. Under this, it was planned to divide the ministries into eight clusters. After the formation of the Awami League government, the ministry of public administration proposed dividing the government ministries into eight clusters, with a chief secretary position for each cluster. However, the then head of government and top officials did not accept this proposal. Instead, they decided to create eight senior secretary positions. At the same time, although the proposal for the Civil Service Act was made, it was rejected."
According to the government's administrative structure, there are five top-level positions in the bureaucracy: secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary, deputy secretary, and assistant secretary. An executive order also added the positions of senior secretary and senior assistant secretary. The senior secretary is placed above the secretary, while the senior assistant secretary is positioned between the deputy and assistant secretary.
Badiul Alam Majumdar, the secretary of the Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN) and head of the electoral reform commission, said, "In the last one and a half decades of the Awami League government, the bureaucracy has been severely politicized. During that time, loyal officers of the Awami League were selectively appointed to important positions. Even the senior secretary position was created to give recognition to loyal officers. The strong position of these political appointees in the administration was used to hold elections without voters and establish an authoritarian structure."
Experts say that before independence, different pay scales were followed for the region's central government, provincial governments, autonomous institutions, educational institutions, universities, and corporations. In total, there were 2,200 different pay scales. There was no integrated pay scale. After independence, the first pay scale in the country was introduced in 1973. The previous 2,200 pay scales were merged into 10 grades at that time. Grades 1 to 5 were considered first class, the sixth grade was second class, the seventh and eighth grades were third class, and the ninth and tenth grades were fourth class. In 1977, when the second pay scale was introduced, the 10 grades were split into 21 grades, later reduced to 20. After several pay commissions, the number of grades remains at 20.
The government of Bangladesh has 58 ministries and divisions. Officers and employees are appointed, assigned, and promoted according to the approved number of posts in these ministries and divisions. This process is mainly overseen by the ministry of public administration. These officers and employees are divided into grades from 1st to 20th according to rank. Secretaries and higher-ranked officials (such as the chief secretary and senior secretaries) fall under Grade 1. Additional secretaries and joint secretaries fall under Grades 2 and 3, respectively.
According to the most recent updated information from the cabinet division on January 28, there is currently one cabinet secretary and one chief secretary in the state structure. Additionally, there are 12 senior secretaries or equivalent officials. There are also 65 secretaries or equivalent officials. According to the interim government's state protocol, the highest-ranking officials in the bureaucracy are the cabinet secretary and chief secretary. After that, the position of other secretaries in different divisions and ministries is considered. However, the position of senior secretary is not clearly defined anywhere.
Professor Dr. Sadik Hasan of the Department of Public Administration at Dhaka University believes there is no structural division between the senior secretary and secretary positions. He told Bonik Barta, "According to the institutional structure, only the secretary position exists; there is no senior secretary position. The Awami League government created the senior secretary position in 2012. This may have been done to give additional respect to some officials. At that time, some officials with the secretary rank were close to retirement. Many were important to the government, so the senior secretary position was created through an executive order."
"Generally, promotions to the positions of Secretary or Senior Secretary should be based on merit. However, in these cases, factors such as political connections and loyalty to the government are also considered. According to the rules, a government's policies are determined by the Prime Minister or ministers, and the bureaucrats carry out implementation. Those who perform well in implementation or show loyalty are rewarded. This might have been the case for senior secretaries in the beginning. The Senior Secretaries appointed at that time were assigned to important ministries," he added.
During the previous government, there was a severe shortage of personnel in the lower grades, but in the top three grades, the workforce exceeded the approved positions. Even after loyal government officials completed their tenure, they were given contract-based appointments. After the interim government took charge through a mass uprising last August, the activities of the public administration have continued in the same manner. Issues like recruiting more personnel than approved in top positions and staff shortages in lower grades are recurring.
According to the Government Employee Statistics 2023 from the ministry of public administration, there are 90 approved positions under Grade 1 in ministries and divisions. However, the interim government has appointed 93 officials, 3 more than the approved number. Under Grade 2, the approved number of positions is 127, but are currently 423 officers appointed in this grade. This means 296 officials are appointed beyond the approved positions. Similarly, in Grade 3, there are 454 more officials than the approved number (376 approved positions, but 821 officials are appointed).
Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) and head of the Reform Commission of Anti-Corruption Commission, told Bonik Barta, "Party considerations played a role in the creation of the senior secretary position, and there's no way to deny that. Many of those appointed later became directly involved in politics. There are examples of that. The appointments to this position were based on party loyalty. During the Awami League government's rule, the bureaucracy consolidated its power and promoted authoritarianism. This is an example of that. As a result, not only was the professional integrity of the bureaucracy undermined, but discrimination was also created in many ways. Those who should have been promoted based on merit were blocked, leading to frustration."
Regarding whether the senior secretary position is necessary today, he said, "There is a reform process in the public administration. I believe the reform commission has considered these issues and will recommend those that are seen as logical. This position was one of the tools used to exert political influence and go against professional excellence in the bureaucracy. Therefore, it is important to deeply consider whether keeping this position is justified. Personally, I believe it is illogical."