The government has appointed an administrator to the Bangladesh Association of Software and Information Services (BASIS) to address operational irregularities.

Muhammed Mehedi Hasan, an additional secretary of the ICT Division, has been tasked with organising a fair and impartial election of BASIS within 120 days, according to an official order issued by the commerce ministry today.

Under the directive, Hasan has been tasked with ensuring a transparent election process and transferring responsibilities to an elected committee within the specified timeframe. 

BASIS President Russell T Ahmed resigned on October 17 this year and Vice President (Finance) Iqbal Ahmed Fakhrul Hasan on October 19. 

However, their resignation letters were not submitted to the Director General of Trade Organisations at the commerce ministry, and subsequent efforts to reorganise the board were deemed flawed.

Complaints from the Anti-Discrimination ICT Entrepreneur Council, the Anti-Discrimination Engineer Council, and general members prompted an official hearing on November 18. 

The former board president failed to attend the hearing or provide a response, and the reconstituted board was unable to address the allegations properly.

The ministry stated that the ongoing instability in the ICT sector has negatively impacted the national economy, and the lack of coordination and effectiveness within the current board further exacerbated these challenges.

Citing Section 17(1) of the Trade Organizations Act, 2022, the ministry concluded that the board's actions were not aligned with the interests of the trade and ICT sectors, leading to the dissolution of the reconstituted board.