Wasa board recommends Taqsem's reappointment as MD for 7th time amid objections

The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) board has recommended the reappointment of Taqsem A Khan as its managing director for a seventh straight term amid the absence of the board's five members and objections by three others.

The Wasa Board took the decision to send the proposal in this regard to the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development (LGRD) and Co-operatives in a meeting on Tuesday,

LGRD is the line ministry for Wasa. The ministry will take the final decision in this regard, but it usually approves the proposal sent by the board.

Taqsem A Khan, whose tenure as Dhaka Wasa MD is set to end on 14 October 2023, can remain MD till 14 October 2026 if the government approves the proposal for the board meeting. Besides, he will also be the first to hold the post for 17 consecutive years.

According to Dhaka WASA officials, the recruitment application forms are requested through notices in several newspapers at least three months before the expiry of the tenure of the incumbent Dhaka Wasa MD.

As per the rules, Wasa Board is supposed to scrutinise the applications and shortlist the most qualified persons. Board members will give marks after interviewing them. Based on the highest marks, a list of three to five people should be prepared and sent to the LGRD ministry.

The ministry then will verify and send the names of the three to the Prime Minister's Office to be finalised by the prime minister.

Taqsem's term ended in October 2012 after being initially appointed for a three-year term. Later, the ministry extended his term twice. In 2015, when the Wasa Board issued a recruitment notification, Taqsem was re-appointed. Later his tenure was extended by the board without issuing any further recruitment notification.

Mamun Rashid Shubhra, a Wasa Board member representing the Dhaka South City Corporation (Councilor of the Word-12) told TBS that there was a discussion in the board meeting about the current MD wanting to serve in the future.

"The proposal to extend his term should be sent to the ministry. Because he is a very experienced person. It will be difficult to find a more qualified person than him even if a new recruitment notice is issued." 

Hence, the majority of members have given their opinion in favour of extending the term of the Taqsem within the rules.

Meanwhile, several members of the Wasa Board told TBS that it hastily arranged a board meeting on Tuesday with just a one-day notice.

Of the 13-member board, five of them were absent, while three of the eight members present at the meeting gave a note of dissent about the reappointment of Taqsem, two board members told TBS.

Dip Azad, a member of the Dhaka Wasa board, told TBS, "I am currently out of the country. I know that the board meeting was held on Tuesday. The notice about the meeting was sent to us on Monday."

Board Chairman Professor Sujit Kumar Bala declined to comment when this correspondent inquired about the board's recommendation by holding the meeting on a one-day notice without advertising in newspapers.

"I can't talk about it. It is forbidden to talk about anything on the board. Talk to the Wasa secretary for information about the board meeting," he told TBS.

Taqsem was first appointed in October 2009. The government approved a one-year extension in 2012 when the board proposed three years before the end of the first term. Extension of tenure in this way without publication of an appointment notification in the newspaper is a clear violation of the rules.

A Wasa board member said no one has been in the same position for such a long time in the history of the country. He is the highest-paid government employee. There are allegations of widespread corruption against him.

It is alleged that, due to his corruption, none of the projects worth thousands of crores of taka have been successful.

Mozammel Haque, president of the Dhaka Wasa Officers and Employees Union, told TBS that multiple corruption cases are ongoing in the Anti-Corruption Commission against Taqsem.

"In such circumstances, the board cannot recommend his reappointment as per the rules. It is unethical and conducive to corruption," he added.