This month (February 6), journalist Monir Haider was appointed Senior Secretary on a contractual basis as the Chief Adviser's special assistant (consensus building). With these appointments, the number of senior secretaries in the Interim Government has now reached at least 16. This count does not include the cabinet secretary and the chief secretary to the Chief Adviser.
The senior secretary position has long been controversial. It is alleged that the Sheikh Hasina government created this post to reward loyal bureaucrats. Recently, the Public Administration Reform Commission recommended abolishing the position. However, appointments to this position have not stopped. Following the footsteps of the previous Awami League government, senior bureaucrats are being promoted one after another. Public administration experts believe that if this trend continues, the number of senior secretaries will soon surpass the previous government's count.
Before being ousted in a mass uprising, the Awami League was in power until August 5, 2024. According to information from April 18 of the previous year, there were 19 senior secretaries in the government, excluding the cabinet secretary and the chief secretary. Most of them were known to be close to the ruling government at the time.
Former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder told Bonik Barta, "During the previous government, 20 members of my batch (1982 regular batch) were promoted to senior secretary. Of them, 18 were ranked after me on the merit list. The position of senior secretary at that time was politically motivated. What is happening now is also wrong. Promoting them to the senior secretary is improper after appointing someone as a secretary on a contractual basis. Their rank could be equal to senior secretary's, but contractual appointees should not be promoted."
According to updated information from the Cabinet Division on February 9, there are currently at least 13 senior secretaries in the administration, excluding the cabinet and chief secretaries. In addition, the positions of senior secretary have been granted to the Chief Adviser's Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, the Chief Adviser's special assistant (consensus building), Monir Haider, and Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey, the current ambassador of Bangladesh to Mexico.
According to the Cabinet Division's data, the following officials hold the position of senior secretary in various ministries and divisions: Dr. Nasimul Gani from the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, MA Akmall Hossain Azad, Member of the Bangladesh Planning Commission, Md Ehshanul Haque from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Md Mokhlesur Rahman from the Ministry of Public Administration, Siddique Zobair from the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education, Md Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan, Member of the Bangladesh Planning Commission, Momtaz Ahmed from the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, ASM Saleh Ahmed from the Ministry of Land, Mohammad Yousuf from the Ministry of Shipping, Zakia Sultana from the Ministry of Industry, Md Mokabbir Hossain from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Akhtar Ahmed from the Election Commission Secretariat, and Lamiya Morshed, the Chief Coordinator for SDGs at the Chief Adviser's Office.
In the basic structure of public administration, there is no actual senior secretary position. This position was created on January 9, 2012, through an executive order by the Sheikh Hasina government. It was primarily created to form a group of loyal bureaucrats and reward them. The late HT Imam was the mastermind in its creation.
According to the government's administrative structure, there are five top-level ranks: secretary, additional secretary, joint secretary, deputy secretary, and assistant secretary. The senior secretary and senior assistant secretary positions were added through an executive order. The senior secretary is placed above the secretary, while the senior assistant secretary is placed between the deputy secretary and assistant secretary.
According to the state's protocols, the cabinet secretary and the chief secretary are at the top of the civil service. Other secretaries in different departments and ministries are ranked next. However, this structure does not clearly define the position of senior secretary.
When asked about this, M Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, former cabinet secretary, told Bonik Barta, "The senior secretary position was created in 2012 through an executive order. Since it is still in effect, appointments or promotions to this position are normal. The reform commission has recommended abolishing the senior secretary position, but this will not happen immediately. The entire reform commission report will be reviewed together. After that, recommendations will be implemented based on priorities."
During the Awami League's tenure, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina created the senior secretary position. This was done on the advice and interest of HT Imam to reward loyal bureaucrats. However, the practice of promoting bureaucrats outside the state-approved organogram to reward loyalty first appeared during the military rule of Hussain Muhammad Ershad.
To reward loyal bureaucrats, General Ershad appointed three officials to the rank of principal secretary. They were Kazi Fazlur Rahman (1956 batch), M Syeduzzaman (1956 batch), and Khorshed Alam (1957 batch). Later, in 2001, the BNP government appointed Dr. Shah Mohammad Farid (1967 batch) as principal secretary. All these rewarded officials were CSP officers. These appointments were made under special consideration, as such positions did not exist in the government's organogram.
Senior secretaries or equivalent positions are also seen in countries like India and Pakistan. Governments appoint highly skilled, prudent, and experienced officials to these roles based on state needs. In Pakistan, the equivalent position is called secretary general. Senior officials are appointed to this role in key ministries like defense, finance, employment, and commerce based on seniority.
Similarly, in India, promotions are given to retain competent and senior officers. They are appointed as principal secretaries in their respective ministries. However, such appointments are very limited and rare in these countries. They are based on merit, efficiency, and experience.
After the fall of the Awami League government, on August 14 of the previous year, Lamiya Morshed, the executive director of Yunus Center, was appointed as the chief coordinator for SDGs at the Chief Adviser's Office on a contractual basis. On the same day, Mohammad Mokabbir Hossain, Chairman of the Bangladesh Energy and Power Research Council (senior secretary), was appointed as the senior secretary of the Ministry of Public Safety and Security. Three days later, on August 17, he was transferred to the Ministry of Science and Technology as senior secretary.
On the same day (August 17), the Interim Government appointed five retired additional secretaries to secretary positions on a contractual basis. They were Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid, Dr. Nasimul Gani, MA Akmall Hossain Azad, Md Ehshanul Haque, and Dr Mohammad Abdul Momen. The next day, on August 18, all five were promoted to senior secretary. These five had retired as additional secretaries during the Awami League government. Later, Dr. Mohammad Abdul Momen was appointed as the chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in December. According to the constitution, this position holds the same rank as a Supreme Court Appellate Division judge.
Zakia Sultana was appointed Secretary of the Ministry of Industry on May 16, 2021. After the people's uprising brought down the Awami League government, she was promoted to senior secretary of the same Ministry on September 27.
On October 8, after Senior Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid of the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education was appointed cabinet secretary, the position became vacant. On October 14, the Ministry of Public Administration notified him of the position on a two-year contract. Later, former bureaucrat Siddique Zobair was brought back into service on a contractual basis and appointed as senior secretary of the Ministry of Secondary and Higher Education.
On October 21, journalist Mushfiqul Fazal Ansarey was appointed ambassador with the rank of senior secretary. The Ministry of Public Administration's Contract and Foreign Assignment Section issued a notification. He is currently serving as the Ambassador of Bangladesh to Mexico.
On October 27, former bureaucrat Dr. Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan was appointed a senior secretary to the Planning Commission. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification appointing him on a two-year contract. He is an officer from the 1984 batch (5th batch) of the BCS (Administration) cadre.
On November 3, Momtaz Ahmed was appointed as senior secretary of the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs on a two-year contract. On November 10, Mohammad Yousuf was appointed as senior secretary of the Ministry of Shipping.
When asked about these appointments, a former government secretary, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Bonik Barta, "According to the rules, promotions in government jobs are based on merit and seniority. But this was not followed during the previous government. Senior secretaries appointed based on loyalty have often been controversial. The reform commission's recommendation to abolish the senior secretary position is a good decision. However, implementing the recommendation is not a verbal matter; it must be done through an executive order or notification."