Secretaries crowd lower-tier agencies

An expansion of secretary‑level appointments has resulted in civil service positions traditionally held by deputy, joint, or additional secretaries now being occupied by secretaries.

This has made the civil administration top-heavy, with more top bureaucrats now serving in subordinate bodies than in ministries.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Bangladesh currently has 88 secretaries for its 56 ministries and divisions, while departments, agencies, and other bodies under the ministries have 102 secretary-level positions, according to the draft of Statistics of Civil Officers and Staff 2025.

The trend has raised concerns among officials about an imbalance in the administrative hierarchy.

For example, officials with ranks of deputy or joint secretary are supposed to head the Bangladesh Waqf Administrator’s Office under the religious affairs ministry and the Department of Bangladesh Haor and Wetlands Development under the water resources ministry.

However, contractual appointments of officials with secretary status have recently been made to both positions though no secretary-rank officer had ever served there before, said officials from the two organisations.

The appointments stand in contrast with the Rules of Business -- the key document governing public administration -- which defines a secretary as the administrative head of a ministry or division.

Traditionally, only the top officials of ministries and divisions held the title. Over time, however, a handful of strategically important departments and agencies were allowed to be headed by officials with the secretary rank in special cases.

That practice has since expanded considerably.

Contractual appointees with secretary status have been given charge of institutions like the Department of Textiles, Dhaka WASA, and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), even though the posts are not classified as secretary-rank positions in the approved organograms of these organisations.

According to sources at the public administration ministry, the practice began during the Awami League government’s tenure in 2012 and expanded significantly over the following decade and a half, contributing to a steady increase in secretary-level positions.

“We hoped that the interim government would curb these imbalance, but that did not happen. The situation has not improved even after the elected government took office,” said an officer, wishing not to be named.

Speaking to this correspondent, former secretary Abdul Awal Mazumder said that during the AL government’s tenure, preferred officers were indeed rewarded with secretary-level postings in various departments and agencies, often going beyond established norms.

“In some instances, when career officials refused to comply with partisan directives, they were reassigned to less significant postings in these agencies,” said Mazumder, who is currently researching public administration.

“It is inappropriate to assign officers holding a crucial rank like secretary to lower-level positions. While the current government may be making such decisions to address past grievances, it should move away from such practices to build an efficient bureaucracy,” he added.

WEAKENING OF INSTITUTIONS

According to officials, in some cases, contractual appointees to secretary-level posts in departments or agencies were senior to secretaries in ministries. When the head of an agency or a department holds the same rank as the ministry secretary, it disrupts administrative decorum and often leads to ego conflicts.

Giving an example, a religious affairs ministry official said the current Waqf administrator, who holds secretary status, is senior to the religious affairs secretary.

“Such appointments should be avoided,” the official noted.

Several officials said that many senior contractual appointees are not well suited to current administrative needs, as they adhere to outdated practices that are making decisions increasingly backward-looking rather than future-oriented.

“A proper solution to this can only be expected if the political leadership realises the depth of this issue,” said a secretary on the condition of anonymity.

NO IMPROVEMENT

The public administration ministry is responsible for determining which types and levels of officials are required for agencies and whether certain posts should be upgraded or abolished.

Over the past few years, secretary-level officials have been appointed to various agencies under the Prime Minister’s Office and ministries for local government, youth and sports, industries, land, water resources, shipping, home, foreign and religious affairs, commerce, health, finance, and defence.

Questions have been raised about why officials with the rank of secretary should be appointed to bodies like the Bangladesh Employees Welfare Board, the National Academy for Planning and Development, and the National Academy for Development Administration.

Seeking anonymity, a Cabinet Division official said, “It is unfortunate that administrative officials are not making any efforts to restore administrative standard.”

When contacted at his office on June 21, Public Administration Secretary Ehsanul Hoque declined to comment on the issue.