Political affiliation of upper-level officers is given emphasis when it comes to promotion rather than merit, skill or seniority, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) said today.

Due to irrational promotion, additional secretaries, in many cases, are carrying out duties of deputy secretaries whereas deputy secretaries are doing jobs of senior assistant or assistant secretaries, according to a stidy of TIB.

In its research, the corruption watchdog has also found that though the government has increased salary and allowances, it apparently fails to curb corruption of government officials.

TIB unveiled its research titled 'Integrity in Public Administration: Policy and Practice' at a media briefing at its office in Dhaka.

Based on interviews of former and incumbent government officials, the research was carried out from June 2018 and March 2019.