Top bureaucrats of the government in many cases are found to violate the Rules of Business of the administration including the areas pertaining to financial matters, noted the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).
Principal Secretary to the PMO Sheikh Md Wahid-uz-Zaman sent an instruction last week to all ministries and divisions of the government asking them to follow the Rules of Business strictly in order to establish good governance and financial accountability.
The directive from the PMO categorically mentioned the areas and proposals which require mandatory approval of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and the inter-ministerial meetings.
"In some cases, responsible high officials do not comply with the regulations of Rules of Business. The officials concerned sometimes create an unwarranted situation by violating the principles of financial guidelines causing serious problems for the overall governance," reads the directive of the PMO.
The instruction observed the practice could create both financial and administrative disorder in the country.
Sources at the Cabinet Division said a good number of top civil servants of many ministries are not aware of the rules and regulations included in the Rules of Business of the government.
They said matters relating to international organisations, world bodies, agreements and treaties, have to be dealt with only by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) as stipulated in the Rules of Business, but a number of ministries and divisions are directly maintaining contacts with foreign sources bypassing the MoFA.
On the other hand, when it comes to the issues of transit, transshipment and the use of Chittagong port by a number of sub-regional countries, some ministries of the government have made communications with the regional countries concerned, sources said.
Besides, a number of ministries, including the Ministry of Communications, often send lists of projects to multilateral lending agencies and bilateral donors for assistance. According to Rules of Business, the Economic Relations Division, under the Finance Ministry, is supposed to make communications with the donors.
A high official at the Cabinet Division said even many secretaries of the government are not aware of the regulations of financial authority resulting in a situation that lacks transparency in public procurement.
"The high officials including secretaries of the government should be imparted training in the government's Rules of Business, Public Procurement Rules and details of regulations of the government concerning financial authority," a government secretary told the FE.
He said a serious absence of concentration on the part of the bureaucrats has led to a grave situation when it comes to governance.
Source: thefinancialexpress-bd.com
Read More on prothom alo dhaka
No comments:
Post a Comment