Officials in state-owned energy companies are expressing concern about a large number of appointments to the boards of publicly-held power and energy companies being made to individuals on the basis of their connections to the ruling party.
Thirteen out of 18 people who have recently been appointed to the boards of companies under the Power and Energy Ministry, are former BCL or Mahila Awami League leaders, and at least three of the others are reported to have political connections to decision-makers in the ministry.
None of these new directors has direct experience or claims expertise in the power or energy sectors, even though their posts are normally held by experts.
While there is no legal bar on their recruitment, it is concerning that some managing directors at these firms have reported pressure to recruit people preferred by the new director-appointees and to provide tenders to pre-selected parties.
No board directors, whether politically appointed or not, have a right to abuse their position.
Directors must put the interests of the companies which they govern first. It is clearly wrong for a director to put personal or political factors ahead of the interest of their companies.
The government should reform the process for making public board appointments to guard against such abuses.
Appointments should be made on merit to the best person available for a position, not on the basis of political connections.
Procedures should be overhauled to ensure that all appointments are made fairly and transparently. Vacancies should be publicly advertised and impartial panels appointed to judge candidates on their individual merits.
Independent processes or an ombudsman should also be made available to hear any complaints about poor governance or abuse of authority by directors. Transparency, merit, and fairness should be the over-riding priorities at all stages.