Discussion among the government officials regarding reshuffle at the top administrative level is now at the pinnacle especially because the country is set to hold the 12th Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) elections at the end of next year or at the beginning of 2024. The two-year contract-based term of the cabinet secretary and principal secretary to the prime minister is about to end.
Officials at the secretariat are busy in various speculations about who will occupy these two vital posts. Post of the public administration secretary is becoming vacant too. Some names are being strongly debated as the next public administration secretary.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed is also going to retire in the next month. A discussion has been going on whether someone new will be joining the post or the tenure of the current IGP will be extend.
Several top level officials at the secretariat said to Prothom Alo though reshuffle in the administration is a routine activity, quite a bit of speculation is going on about who will be entrusted with the top posts of the administration this year as the national elections are scheduled for the end of next year. In fact, different calculations are going on inside the government as well.
Current alternative executive director of World Bank Shafiul Alam’s contract-based term will also end in October and it won't be extended anymore. Sources at the public administration ministry say that he will be replaced by Ahmad Kaikaus, an officer of the '84 batch of BCS administration cadre.
Ahmad Kaikaus at present is working as the principal secretary to the prime minister on a two-year contract-based appointment. Words are circulating that he will leave for Washington in November on the contract-based appointment for the next three years. Though his term is supposed to end on 31 December, he is going to the US even before his term as principal secretary is completed.
According to public administration ministry, incumbent cabinet secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam’s contractual term would end on 15 December this year. He was appointed to the post on 28 October, 2019 for one year. Later, his contract was extended for another two years
There are speculations abound about who could be the next principal secretary to the prime minister.
The name of Tofazzel Hossain Miah, senior secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is at the fore of discussion for the post of principal secretary to the PM. However, senior secretary at the water resources ministry Kabir Bin Anwar’s name is also being debated for the post. Kabir Bin Anwar is the senior of the two. Kabir Bin Anwar is an officer of the '85 batch of BCS while Tofazzel Hossain Miah came from the 9th BCS batch.
There are speculations that if Tofazzel Hossain Miah becomes the principal secretary to the prime minister, PM’s personal secretary (PS-1) Mohammad Salahuddin might become secretary at the PMO. He has been working as a personal secretary to the prime minister since January 2020. Earlier, he was the director general of PMO. An officer of BCS 13th batch, Salahuddin was the deputy of commissioner of Dhaka before that.
According to public administration ministry, incumbent cabinet secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam’s contractual term would end on 15 December this year. He was appointed to the post on 28 October, 2019 for one year. Later, his contract was extended for another two years.
Usually, cabinet secretaries are chosen from the senior officials of the administration taking his clean image throughout the career into consideration. Name of Mahbub Hossain, the senior secretary of energy division is being talked about for the post of cabinet secretary. This officer from BCS '86 batch was the secretary at secondary and higher education directorate earlier.
Names of Kabir Bin Anwar, senior secretary of the water resources ministry, and Aminul Islam, secretary of primary and mass education ministry are also in discussion for the post of cabinet secretary. However, the secretariat sources are not ruling out the possibility of incumbent cabinet secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam being appointed again on contract basis, either. Khandaker Anwarul Islam is an administration cadre of 1982’s special BCS batch.
The term of Ali Azam, senior secretary of public administration is going to end on 2 November. Usually, tenure of the public administration secretary is not extended. But it is being heard that he could be appointed as the executive chairman of Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) for three years. This post is vacating in September as the incumbent executive chairman Sirajul Islam is set to leave.
The current public administration secretary can also be made a member of the Public Service Administration (PSC). The government had appointed the former public administration secretary Shaikh Yusuf Harun as the executive chairman of Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) for three years. Meanwhile, another former secretary of public administration Foyez Ahmed was made PSC member.
In that case, names of several officers are being speculated as the next secretary of public administration. Among them, there is local government secretary Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury. He is an officer of BCS 9th batch and worked as was the shipping secretary. Other people being discussed are, land secretary Mustafizur Rahman, an officer of BCS 10th batch, religious affairs secretary Kazi Enamul Hasan and planning ministry’s implementation, monitoring and evaluation division secretary Abu Hena Morshed Zaman.
IMED secretary Abu Hena Morshed Zaman told Prothom Alo that reshuffle in the administration is a very common process. Wherever the government would entrust a responsibility, the duties will be performed in accordance with that.
Several secretaries are set to complete their tenures in next December and January. The list includes civil aviation and tourism secretary Mokammel Hossain, youth and sports secretary Mejbah Uddin, posts and telecommunications division secretary Khalilur Rahman, fisheries and livestock secretary Yamin Chowdhury. Discussions are also going on in the administration about who will be helming these posts.
IGP Benazir Ahmed is going to complete his term at the end of next month. Speculations have been going on for the past few months whether his tenure will be extended considering the upcoming national elections.
However, if he is to remain as the IGP during the elections, his term would have to be extended by two years. There are no records of extending the term of a police chief in the country. There are discussions about the US sanctions against him too.
On the other hand, there are also speculations among the force officials about who will be the next police chief, if Benazir's tenure is not extended.
Names of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) director general Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun and additional IGP SM Ruhul Amin are in discussion on the basis of seniority.
However, these two officers would retire before the next general election. In this circumstance, the name of police’s special branch (SB) chief Monirul Islam is also being discussed. The post of the commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is also going to be vacant soon.
* The report has been rewritten in English by Nourin Ahmed Monisha