A parliamentary committee yesterday forwarded a new draft of the public services act to the prime minister’s office for approval.
The committee’s chairman H N Ashikur Rahman confirmed that very soon the draft of Public Service Act will be placed in the cabinet; upon approval, the bill will be sent to the parliamentary committee for final inspection. He was speaking to Dhaka Tribune after presiding over a regular meeting of The parliamentary committee on public administration ministry.
The new draft dropped an important provision that stipulates mandatory examinations for officials to get promoted at any level.
The draft, finalised by the public administration ministry, has also dropped the idea of outsourcing employees in the government service to the private sector.
The draft Civil Service Bill, 2011 prepared through long consultations with stakeholders was abandoned and almost a similar draft titled Public Servants Bill, 2012 was framed to widen the jurisdiction of the law, according to officials at the public administration ministry.
There is now no law to regulate the civil service at present although Clause 133 of the Constitution says that the Parliament may by law regulate the appointment and service conditions of persons in the service of the republic.
The new law would cover all officials and employees in the public service. The scope of the law had been widened in the latest draft too, the officials sources said adding that the law would not allow anyone in the public service to have links with any party politics.
The draft law was also aimed at regulating appointment, promotion, transfer and other terms of public service. It suggested that promotion and posting should be based on merit and performance.
Presently, the Superior Selection Board led by the cabinet secretary evaluates the officials’ performance, based on the annual confidential reports, and their educational qualifications to recommend them for promotion. Those who do not get promoted remain in the dark about the reasons for their failure to climb up the ladder.
The state minister for public administration, Ismat Ara Sadek was specially invited to yesterday’s meeting, and she assured the committee that her ministry will believe in transparency and accountability. For this reason, they are performing the role of a watchdog in every administrative sector under their authority.
Apart from the public service act, the committee also discussed the compensation for public school head masters and district education officers.
The committee also suggested that the freedom fighter’s certification process be inspected, and requested the concerned ministry to be vigilant in this issue.
