The chief adviser’s candid admission by way of an apology for arriving late to a reception with diplomats today is telling.
He was delayed by some “unruly officials” who “demanded an immediate resolution” to longstanding grievances. Professor Muhammad Yunus, who is the de facto prime minister of Bangladesh, did not elaborate. But that only reaffirms misgivings that the bureaucracy and civil administration is rife with frenzied instability.
Branches of law enforcement, administration, bureaucracy and even public universities and colleges have been plagued with resignations, dismissals or reshuffles since August 6, a day after the former prime minister fled Bangladesh. The same day, sensitive portfolios of the army were reshuffled.
The next day, on August 7, the central bank governor and his four deputies resigned, faced with a brewing tension at the very heart of the financial sector regulator.
On August 10, the chief justice and his co-judges of the Appellate Division resigned. Within a few days contractual appointments of senior officials, including a few ambassadors, were cancelled.
The Daily Star reported today that the civil administration is “still on edge”. In fact, reading between the lines, it becomes clear that the secretariat, the heart of Bangladesh’s bureaucracy, ground to a halt since the Awami League regime fell. Comments and remarks in that article indicate that civil servants have been doing little but agitating a lot, all in a bid to ensure they secure their position.
This paper also reported that five former secretaries forced into retirement had been hired on contract for two years while another report said 20 universities were currently running without vice-chancellors. Even the metro is not running because workers are on strike.
In yet another wave of appointments, over 200 officials were promoted to joint secretaries today.
There is still speculation and apprehension that second- and third-tier officials will be further reshuffled, which is hardly conducive for any work, let alone efficiency.
This upheaval, which is understandably unavoidable in many cases, smacks of a purge. It appears that success during the Awami League regime is enough to discredit and dismiss someone. It is difficult to surmise the decision-making process within the interim government.
But from the outside it does not appear that the hiring is based on integrity and efficiency, or that the firing is decided by incompetence and abuse of office. Mere party affiliation should not be the grounds for one’s dismissal, nor for recruitment. There is little predictability of who will stay and who won’t.
That the interim government does not have a firm grip on administration is not reassuring for anyone. Along with law and order, fixing the civil administration is perhaps the government’s top priority right now.
