Bonikbarta Exclusive

A significant number of high-ranking government officials played a pivotal role in keeping the Awami League in power for an extended period. Most of these officials came from the administrative cadre. During the previous government’s tenure, they reportedly played a direct role in extending authoritarian rule through the politicization of the field administration. Many of these officials later joined the Awami League after retirement, and some even secured seats in the National Parliament as candidates nominated by the party.

Political analysts say that the Awami League rewarded these bureaucrats with party nominations as a recognition of their efforts in prolonging the previous government’s authoritarian regime. This allowed the party to maintain control over the administration. However, it also resulted in a professional decline within the bureaucracy and other institutions.

Md. Abul Kalam Azad, was elected In the 12th National Parliamentary Election as a Member of Parliament from Jamalpur Sadar constituency, representing the Awami League. He was a former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Azad, an official of the 1982 administrative cadre, was later appointed as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Government Institutions.

Abul Kalam Azad served as Secretary of the Power Division from 2009 to 2012. He then held the position of Secretary of the Economic Relations Division (ERD) for two years. In 2014, he joined the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) as Senior Secretary. The following year, he was appointed Principal Secretary. He also served as the Coordinator for SDG-related matters at the PMO. His role as Power Secretary has been largely blamed for the current mismanagement and financial strain in the power sector. Many believe that under his leadership, the sector became increasingly dependent on private entrepreneurs (IPPs).

Former Chairman of the Public Service Commission (PSC), Mohammad Sadiq, was elected as a Member of Parliament from the Sunamganj-4 constituency, representing the Awami League in the 12th National Parliamentary Election. He was later appointed as the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Administration. Sadiq, an official of the 1982 batch, also held prominent positions such as Director General of the Bangladesh Institute of Administration and Management (BIAM) Foundation, and Director and Acting Director General of the Bangladesh Civil Service Administration Academy. He also served as the founding Secretary of the Nazrul Institute under the Ministry of Cultural Affairs, as well as Education Secretary and Secretary of the Bangladesh Election Commission Secretariat. Additionally, he held the position of First Secretary and Counselor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Sweden. Sadiq joined the Public Service Commission as its Chairman on May 2, 2016, after serving as a member of the commission since November 3, 2014.

Both Abul Kalam Azad and Mohammad Sadiq belong to the 1982 batch. A large portion of the new appointments in various ministries and divisions by the current interim government also comes from this batch.

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), believes that not only the bureaucracy but all state institutions have become politicized. He told Bonik Barta, “It would be inaccurate to claim that politicization only occurred during the tenure of the recently ousted authoritarian government. It has been happening for a long time, but it reached its peak during the last government. As a result, professional degradation has occurred in the bureaucracy and all other institutions. This has been a prolonged process in our country.”

Sajjadul Hassan, a former official of the 1985 batch, became a Member of Parliament from the Netrakona-4 (Madan-Mohongonj-Khaliajuri) constituency in a by-election on July 31, 2023, as the Awami League’s nominee. He was re-elected from the same constituency in the 12th National Parliamentary Election. 

On February 25, 2015, Sajjadul Hassan was appointed as Personal Secretary-1 to then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, after serving as Sylhet Divisional Commissioner. On January 26, 2018, he was appointed Acting Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office. On December 25, 2019, he became Senior Secretary. After retiring from this position, he visited the Awami League’s Dhanmondi office on January 9, 2020, and met with the party’s General Secretary, Obaidul Quader, and other central leaders. He was honored in a grand event in his hometown of Mohongonj on February 16, 2020, shortly after receiving another honor from the district Awami League.

Kabir Bin Anwar is a former Cabinet Secretary and one of the most trusted officials of the previous Awami League government. He joined the Awami League on January 3, 2023, nearly a year after his retirement. Shortly after his retirement, he took a seat in the Awami League’s election steering committee, previously held by the late HT Imam. There was speculation at the time that he might replace HT Imam in the future.

Kabir Bin Anwar held various significant positions in the government for many years. This 1988 batch officer of the BCS Administration Cadre served as a deputy secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and later as Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office. In 2018, he took on the role of Senior Secretary at the Ministry of Water Resources. He retired later as the Cabinet Secretary.

In the 12th National Parliament elections, the Awami League nominated former Senior Secretary Sourendra Nath Chakraborty for the Naogaon-3 (Badalgachi-Mahadevpur) constituency. Prior to the elections, he was known as a close associate of the previous government.

Sourendra Nath Chakraborty, an officer of the 1985 batch (7th batch) of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration), was promoted to Senior Secretary of the Statistics and Information Management Division on May 18, 2020. Earlier, on March 30, 2018, he was appointed Secretary of the Statistics and Information Management Division. Prior to that, he served as Additional Secretary under the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development, and Cooperatives.

In the same election, former Secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Mohammad Mezbah Uddin Chowdhury, collected the party nomination to contest the Bhola-4 (Charfesson-Monpura) seat for the Awami League. He belongs to the 1993 batch of the BCS Administration Cadre. He served as District Commissioner in Khulna for two years and in Chattogram for three years. In 2016, he was named the ‘Best District Commissioner’ of the country. He held the positions of Joint Secretary and Additional Secretary for nearly five years. He joined the Ministry of Youth and Sports as Secretary on January 12, 2023, and retired the following year.

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman, Executive Director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said, “From the moment they enter government service, officials often engage in politics. Their appointments, promotions, and transfers are usually made based on party considerations. Therefore, authoritarian efforts are apparent from the start to keep them in a party-oriented environment. Thus, I don’t consider a significant change occurring only after retirement to join politics as a major shift. These activities are indeed examples of politicization within the administration or bureaucracy, but the more detrimental issue is the systemic politicization from the outset. This has intensified the crisis. We need to find ways to overcome this.”

Dr. Iftekharuzzaman added, “The politicization of bureaucratic and other state institutions has become evident. This issue is most pronounced in the civil administration and law enforcement agencies. As a result, some individuals are directly joining politics. They have been conditioned in this way. From the very beginning, they are appointed based on political considerations, and promotions and transfers follow the same pattern. Many former bureaucrats or police officers who were elected as members of Parliament with the support of the administration held positions of even greater power within the administration. Many of them have abused their power while in office. This is how these issues should be viewed. The ultimate form of politicization in the administration or bureaucracy is the transition to politics after a career in public service.”

Additionally, in the context of the 12th National Parliament elections, former bureaucrats who collected party nomination forms included former Secretary Prashanta Kumar Ray for the Khulna-1 constituency and former Secretary Mihir Kanti Majumdar for Barisal-1. However, they did not participate in the elections as they did not receive nominations from their party.

Badiul Alam Majumdar, Secretary of Citizens for Good Governance (SHUJAN), recently told Bonik Barta, “The behavior of government employees aligning with political loyalty or serving party interests is entirely contradictory to the code of conduct. They have often acted as instruments of the government on their own accord. In most cases, they have worked to take advantage of opportunities and benefits on their own initiative.”