Tk5,377cr proposed for public administration ministry

The government has allocated Tk 5,377 crore for the Ministry of Public Administration in the proposed budget for the fiscal year (FY) 2024-25.

The allocation is Tk 217 crore higher than the revised budget of Tk 5,160 crore of the previous FY2023-24, reports BSS.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister AH Mahmood Ali said it is one of the election pledges of the present government to ensure good practice of transparency, good governance and democracy in all spheres of public administration aiming to build a smart and developed Bangladesh by 2041.

"We are working to ensure easy access to public services to reduce poverty and inequality and to attract domestic and foreign investment to achieve a high growth rate," he said.

Ali said the government has been continuously striving to establish good governance through regulatory and institutional reforms since it came to power.

"Digital Bangladesh made our task of achieving good governance easier. We can achieve the desired level of good governance if we can implement the framework of 'Smart Bangladesh,' envisioned by the Hon'ble Prime Minister, in continuation with the ongoing reforms and innovative initiatives to stay relevant in the era of the fourth Industrial Revolution," he said.

Mahmood Ali said in light of Section 19 of the Public Service Act, 2018, the process of drafting the 'Work Evaluation Rules 2024' is underway by the Ministry of Public Administration for the purpose of objective performance evaluation of government employees.

Laws or Policies have been formulated such as the Public Service (Amendment) Act 2023', 'Bangladesh Civil Service (Administration) Formation and Cadre Order 2024', he said.

The Ministry of Public Administration has already taken the initiative to implement the GEMS (Government Employee Management System) programme, he added.

The minister said if this programme is implemented, a reliable and dynamic smart database of about 19,00,000 government employees will be created and through this, it will be possible to carry out career planning, posting and promotion of the government employees smoothly.