The government has made little visible progress in preparing draft acts corresponding with the various ordinances issued by two previous military rulers.
Following the retraction of the fifth and seventh amendment to the constitution by higher courts, the ordinances issued during the tenure of the two military rulers, namely Ziaur Rahman and HM Ershad, had all been annulled.
The government, however, has found 172 of those ordinances important and had directed the ministries concerned in September last year to submit reports on the preparation of the draft laws against the corresponding ordinances.
In a meeting of the cabinet division on Wednesday it was disclosed that only 19 ministries and divisions had so far forwarded progress reports while seven others had informed that they would not need to draft any law, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told reporters after the meeting.
He also said 32 ministries and divisions were yet to send their reports to the cabinet division in this regard.
A source in the meeting told the Dhaka Tribune that the cabinet secretary had asked the secretaries of the ministries and divisions concerned to work faster and send progress reports to the cabinet division by June 23.
Mosharraf Hossain told reporters that the meeting also discussed the accommodation problem in the Secretariat afterthe secretaries raised the issue.
“The number of officers and employees and the volume of workin the Secretariat has increased. But, the accommodation arrangements has not been expanded. So, there is an acute problem with sitting arrangement. It must be resolved soon,” he said.
He informed that the meeting had decided to prepare short and long term plans to accommodate all the officials and employees in the secretariat.
The public works ministry had been asked to rearrange the setup of offices in the existing buildings of the secretariat, he said.
The cabinet secretary said the meeting had considered constructing new buildings as part of the long term planning.
When asked about the plan for shifting the secretariat to Agargaon in the capital, Mosharraf said: “We have not yet cancelled the plan. But it is not in our active considerationnow because it would cost us big. Still, we are thinking about reviving plan.”
Regarding political interference in civil administration, he said: “In democracy, the civil bureaucrats must work very closelywith the political figures. They must work in consultation with the political stream while simultaneously maintaining a non-partisan stature. It should not be considered political interference.”
The agenda of the meeting also included: informing the cabinet division on the best practices of the ministries, sending monthly reports to the cabinet division so that it could prepare quarterly reports, administrative reform, and Public Service Act and Digitisation of government offices.
The meeting also asked the secretaries attend the parliament sessions and assist in its activities, the cabinet secretary said.