Dhaka, Dec 18, (V7N) - The Bangladesh Administrative Service Association has demanded the revision of the report submitted by the Public Administration Reform Commission. On Wednesday, the Association raised concerns and called for the correction of the news reports published about the Commission.

A press release signed by Mahbubur Rahman, Secretary General of the Administrative Service Association, made this demand public.

The statement highlighted that the Association took note of remarks made by the head of the Commission during a meeting with journalists from print and electronic media, held on Tuesday. The head of the Commission suggested reducing the promotion rate for officials in the administration cadre from the existing 75% to 50% for promotion to the position of Deputy Secretary. The Association believes that the core objective of the Commission should be to identify problems and provide integrated recommendations for solutions, considering all levels of employees, from the lowest-paid civil servants to the highest-ranking officers, to build a people-oriented, efficient, impartial, and modern public administration.

The Association has expressed concern that the report was not prepared based on adequate data collection, such as surveys or consultations with administrative officers who are waiting for promotion to the Deputy Secretary level. Consequently, the published reports have sparked strong anger and reactions among officers at all levels of the BCS Administration cadre, particularly those working in the field administration. The Bangladesh Administrative Service Association has demanded that the head of the Commission revise his statement and the related report.

The Association further stated that when government officials, including civil servants, are working tirelessly to maintain law and order, ensure stability, and improve overall conditions, such a statement could escalate inter-service conflicts and weaken the public administration reform process. The Association has also questioned why such an important matter was made public before the Commission's final report was submitted to the government, urging the relevant authorities to investigate whether this was part of a deliberate attempt to destabilize the interim government's activities.

The statement also pointed out that throughout the history of the Civil Service, officials from the administration cadre have always held key positions such as Deputy Secretary, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Secretary. The claim made by certain vested interests, suggesting that these positions are privileges exclusively held by administration cadre officers, is a misunderstanding of the state and governance system, the Association added.

The release concluded by asserting that, for several reasons, all appointments to the positions of Deputy Secretary, Joint Secretary, Additional Secretary, and Secretary should be exclusively made from the administration cadre.

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