Decision to implement public admin reform commission recommendations soon, 18 proposals prioritised

The government has taken a decision on expedited implementation of the recommendations of the public administration reform commission. It has identified 18 immediately implementable reform proposals in line with this decision.

The press wing of the chief adviser disclosed this information to the media today, Friday.

According to the press wing, a meeting was held on 16 June at the Chief Adviser’s Office with the view to the swift execution of implementable recommendations proposed by the public administration reform commission.

The meeting was presided over by the chief adviser’s principal secretary M. Siraj Uddin Miah.

It was said at the meeting that, in response to the aspirations of the people following the mass uprising of students, workers, and the public, the interim government created six principal reform commissions, among others. These commissions have submitted their recommendations to the government.

The National Consensus Commission, chaired by the chief adviser, has been working to reach consensus on the vital recommendations, including the constitutional amendment. The chief adviser, however, has directed for prompt implementation of the reform proposals that fall within the administrative purview of the ministries concerned.

In this context, the cabinet division issued a circular to various ministries and departments on 25 May.

It was told in the meeting that 121 proposals, deemed immediately implementable, were received through the cabinet division from five reform commissions.

Those include: nine proposals from the electoral reform commission, 38 from the judiciary reform commission, 43 from the Anti-Corruption Commission reform commission, 13 from the police reform commission, and 18 from the public administration reform commission.

The primary agenda of the 16 June meeting was the 18 proposals submitted by the public administration reform commission. Of these, eight proposals, relatively easier to implement, were discussed in detail.

Those are: ensuring hygienic sanitary facilities at highway petrol stations; making ministry websites more dynamic; forming the managing committees in colleges and secondary schools; operation of community health centres via NGOs; mass hearing; right to information act; restructuring the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics; and digital transformation and e-services.

The decisions taken after discussions are:

1. The Energy and Mineral Resources Division will hold meetings with petrol station and CNG station owners’ associations to establish gender-segregated sanitary toilets . A nationwide deadline for installation will be set by 20 July. The division will also issue relevant directives and request district administrations to supervise implementation. The cabinet division and district commissioners will be instructed accordingly. Regular inspections by district administrations will report to both the cabinet division and the Chief Adviser’s Office.

2. The ICT Division will, within one week, hold consultations with all ministries to determine protocols for uploading updated information and integrating mechanisms for public feedback on ministry websites to make the websites more dynamic.

3. The Secondary and Higher Education Division will, within two days, send the draft policy to the public administration ministry regarding forming managing committees in colleges and secondary schools. The ministry will complete vetting within five working days and return the draft, which must be officially issued by the education division within another five working days. The committees must be reconstituted within one month of policy issuance.

4. Within one week, the Health Services Division, along with the NGO Affairs Bureau and relevant private entities, will determine an operational strategy for managing community health centres through non-governmental organisations.

5. The cabinet division will, within one week, consult with all service-delivery ministries to formulate a comprehensive strategy to ensure regular public hearings at government offices.

6. The information and broadcasting ministry will develop a time-bound action plan to review and amend the Right to Information Act-2009. A similar timeline will be considered for reviewing the Official Secrecy Act-1923.

7. The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) will be transformed into the “Bangladesh Statistics Commission” by aligning the commission’s recommendations with ongoing reforms being supported by the World Bank. The Statistics and Data Management Division will establish a time-bound reform plan in this regard.

8. The ICT Division will incorporate all government services into the existing citizen-facing digital platforms for digital transformation and strengthening of e-government services. A time-bound plan will be developed and implemented accordingly. All ministries and departments must submit their implementation timelines to the cabinet division and the Chief Adviser’s Office within one month.

In his concluding remarks, the chair emphasised that each ministry or department must establish its own implementation team and undertake necessary actions.

It was also said that a supervisory team will be formed under the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU), overseen by the secretary of the Chief Adviser’s Office. This team will maintain constant coordination with the ministries and provide requisite support. Besides, the cabinet division will monitor implementation of the reform initiatives. Regular meetings of this nature will be held to advance further reform measures in phases.

Moreover, in recent months, various ministries have undertaken numerous reform initiatives. A total of 1,061 reform and development-related actions have been initiated at 54 ministries.