United News of Bangladesh

Amid a major administrative reshuffle, the government has removed five deputy commissioners (DCs) from districts across the country. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification in this regard on Sunday. According to the notification, the DCs of Gazipur, Panchagarh, Kushtia, Netrokona and Chapainawabganj have been withdrawn. Delay in regular promotion in public administration sparks discontent The officers, who hold the rank of Deputy Secretary, have been attached to the Ministry of Public Administration for further posting. The withdrawn officials are: Gazipur DC Mohammad Alam Hossain, Panchagarh DC Kazi Md. Sayemuzzaman, Kushtia DC Md. Iqbal Hossain, Netrokona DC Md. Saifur Rahman and Chapainawabganj DC Md. Shahadat Hossain.

Former secretary Md Sarwar Alam has been reappointed as Press Secretary to the President on a contractual basis for one year. The Ministry of Public Administration issued a notification in this regard on Tuesday. The appointment has been made under Section 49 of the Government Service Act, 2018 on condition that he severs ties with any other profession, business or employment with government, semi-government or private organisations, said the notification. His contractual tenure will take effect from the date of joining. Earlier, on December 23, 2024, Sarwar Alam, a former joint secretary, was appointed as Press Secretary to President Mohammad Shahabuddin for two years on contract with the rank of secretary. However, he was later removed by the interim government. Sarwar, an officer of the 1985 BCS Information Cadre batch, also served as deputy press secretary to former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia. He also served as Secretary (Public Relations) of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and as Executive Director (Joint Secretary) of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority. In February 2022, he went on post-retirement leave while serving as Director (Joint Secretary) of the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority.

The Ministry of Public Administration has directed the relevant ministries, departments, and organisations to take immediate steps to fill 475,001 vacant posts in government service. The ministry sent a letter to the authorities concerned with detailed instructions regarding this recruitment  on Monday. According to the letter, "Government Employee Statistics 2023," the government currently has 475,001 approved vacant positions. Recently, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) announced a recruitment circular through the 47th BCS examination to fill 3,688 of these vacancies.The BPSC focuses on recruiting first-class non-cadre officers and second-class officers to a limited scale.” Commission to recommend dropping of word 'Cadre' from civil service However, other vacant positions require recruitment by the respective ministries, departments, subordinate offices, organisations, corporations, or companies. The letter mentioned the interim government’s commitment to fulfilling public expectations and reducing unemployment among educated youth. The letter also asked the authorities to provide detailed information on their current recruitment activities within 15 working days. Dec 4 rally of secretariat employees postponed

The ongoing general holidays to curb the transmission of coronavirus have been extended till May 30 in the face of continued loss of life and progressively higher number of infections detected across the country.