Ashraf wants neutral public administration

Newly appointed Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam yesterday directed his ministry officials to be neutral and efficient. 

He also said the government does not believe in politicisation of the administration. “We believe that civil servants, wherever they are posted, should work with efficiency and neutrality,” he said while talking to journalists after joining his new ministry.

A week after the LGRD and cooperatives ministry was taken away from him, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina made him the Minister of Public Administration on July 16. He did not join work immediately since the Eid holidays began the day after. Yesterday was the first working day after Eid.

Ashraf reached work around 2:30pm and stayed there for about one and a half hours. He had a meeting with the officials and employees of the ministry at its conference room there.

State Minister of the ministry Ismat Ara Sadique and Senior Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser welcomed the minister with bouquets.

At the start of the views-exchange meeting, Ashraf spoke about himself, his wife and his daughter living in London and told the officials that they were his family just like the people in the ministry were now his family.

He told the meeting that when the prime minister assigned him to the public administration ministry, he asked her where the ministry was actually located, meeting sources quoted him as saying.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had laughed at the question, the sources said.

The minister said he needed to learn from the officials how the ministry worked.

The senior secretary then briefed him on the ministry activities.

Syed Ashraf is the first public administration minister after the parliamentary democracy was established in 1991. Since then, all prime ministers had kept the portfolio for themselves.

NO OFFICE?

There was no designated office for the newly appointed minister at the ministry, which led Ashraf to leave work early yesterday.

“As I have no office, I will leave the ministry. If there is any work to be done, please send the files to my official residence from where I will work. I will come to the ministry once an office is ready for me,” Ashraf was quoted as saying by a meeting source.

Talking to journalists earlier, Ashraf said he needed a little bit of time to get familiar with the work of the ministry and learn about its jurisdictions.

Replying to a query about politicisation of the administration, he said he did not know whether it was an issue in the ministry.

“We don't believe in politicisation of the administration,” he said, adding that those who were competent would work and prosper.

Meanwhile, presence of officials and employees at Bangladesh Secretariat was thin as many officials were on leave. The minister said his ministry would work in full-swing when they join work.

On July 9, Ashraf was removed from the LGRD and cooperatives ministry and made a minister without portfolio following the prime minister's displeasure over his absence in an important meeting.

Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain replaced Ashraf.

Amid speculations that Ashraf may become inactive in the political arena and start living in London, Hasina summoned him to Gono Bhaban several times between July 10 and July 16 and convinced him to call off his London plans.

Awami League insiders claimed that the prime minister had offered Ashraf, also the general secretary of ruling Awami League, to take charge of either foreign, home or any ministry of his choice.