Govt college teachers paying up to Tk8 lakh in bribes for transfers, says planning adviser
Recalling his earlier experience as finance and planning adviser during the 1996 caretaker government, Dr Wahiduddin said policymaking at that time was comparatively straightforward.
Teachers at government colleges are paying as much as Tk8 lakh each to secure transfers, recalling that hundreds of applicants would crowd his office for this reason, Planning Adviser Wahiduddin Mahmud said today (28 January).
"Teachers at government colleges are paying Tk8 lakh each in bribes to get transfers. When I was in charge of this ministry, hundreds of people would gather outside my office," he said at a seminar titled "Macroeconomic Stability and Challenges For The Next Government," organised by the Economic Reporters' Forum (ERF) at the auditorium of National Insurance PLC.
Referring to issues with projects, he noted that in the new policy, after involving beneficiaries in project implementation, people question the contractors, saying, 'The bricks and mortar you used aren't good.' As a result, now no official wants to become a project director."
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He also noted that the role of the interim government is far more complex than any similar arrangement in the past, as it has emerged from an unprecedented political and social context following a mass uprising.
Recalling his earlier experience as finance and planning adviser during the 1996 caretaker government, Wahiduddin said policymaking at that time was comparatively straightforward.
"Back then, the job was much easier. This time, frankly speaking, I did not want to take up the responsibility, but circumstances compelled me to do so," he said, adding that the task now is much more complicated.
The planning adviser said that he sometimes finds it difficult to clearly define the nature of the present government.
"We are not working like NGOs, nor are we functioning like a normal or fully political government. I myself am still trying to understand exactly what kind of government this is," he said.
He explained that the government has assumed office during a highly unstable period, making its mandate and character inherently complex.
"On one hand, the interim government has emerged from the spirit of a mass uprising and carries the expectations that followed it; on the other hand, it also has a partial constitutional basis," he said.
Taken together, this is a form of government that Bangladesh has never experienced before, Wahiduddin said.
East Coast Group Chairman Azam J Chowdhury, National Insurance Chairman Tofazzal Hossain, Financial Express Editor Shamsul Haque Zahid, BRAC Bank Acting Managing Director and CEO Syed Abdul Momen, Islami Bank Additional Managing Director Dr M Kamal Uddin Jasim, and Mutual Trust Bank Deputy Managing Director Md Samsul Islam spoke the event as special guests.
ERF President Doulot Akter Mala and ERF Secretary Abul Kashem also spoke at the seminar.
