‘Processing files still takes 15 days’: Rizwana urges modernisation in govt offices
Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Adviser Syeda Rizwana Hasan has voiced her dissatisfaction with the prolonged time required to process and approve files in government offices.
While addressing the launch event of the Bangladesh Single Window, organised by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) at a hotel in the capital yesterday evening, she said, "In my experience over the past five months, it takes 15 days for a single file to move up and down through the approval process at various stages.
The process is so exhausting that it often tempts her to sign off on documents without even feeling the need to read them carefully, she said.
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She continued, "Once I approve a file, it returns to me after two weeks. When I asked why it was returned, I was told it was to issue a letter based on my earlier approval."
She then emphasised modernising the bureaucratic process by learning from experiences of integration.
"If we continue with the same old process where one cannot sign something unless someone else signs it first, then digital documentation and e-files will not reduce this burden," she added.
She also stressed inter-agency coordination in addition to supporting both local and foreign businesses.
The event was attended by Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, NBR Chairman Abdur Rahman Khan, Chief Adviser's Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqi, and Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) Executive Chairman Chowdhury Ashik Mahmud Bin Harun, among others.
