Govt to hunt pvt sector executives for PPP unit

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FE Report
The government, facing a talent crunch in bureaucracy, has decided to appoint private sector executives for the proposed Public-Private Partnership (PPP) unit to make it more dynamic, officials said Monday.
They said the top boss of the unit would also be picked from the corporate world in addition to other key posts - a move seen vital to make the innovative initiative a success.
In 2009 financial year, the government set aside Tk 25 billon or US$ 3.0 billion for the PPP budget, designed to finance mainly infrastructure projects.
"It's going to be a test case. If it yields good results, it will be replicated in the civil administration," an official at the cabinet division said.
The PPP unit will be housed in the Board of Investment (BoI), and a BoI official said the recruitment of the unit head would be completed in a month.
The new move came, as the government faced acute shortage of skilled human resources in the public administration, which is depriving the people of efficient and fast services.
Political influence, poor remuneration and corruption are blamed for the talent "famine" in public services, with the corporate sector cashing in on the situation.
"The PPP unit will be a right mixture of officials from public and private sectors," the BoI official said.
"Only talented and experienced executives from the corporate world will be appointed for the unit. There will be no room for nepotism," he said, adding the finance ministry and cabinet division are serious about it.
He added that the finance ministry has agreed to pay competitive salary and other benefits to the PPP unit officials to attract and retain top talents.
HT Imam, adviser to the prime minister on establishment and administrative affairs, last week also announced the government's new move to infuse dynamism into the public administration.
"We must bring in fresh air in the government," he told a luncheon meeting, hosted by AmCham.
He said the move would serve as "locomotive" in ensuring dynamism in the civil bureaucracy, long derided as slow and inefficient.
Cabinet division officials said the adviser is now finanlising the whole exercise, and if needed, even businessmen would be inducted to head the state agencies such as the BoI.
The move is in line with the present government's election pledge to reform the public administration.
"The conventional top-down approach impedes growth and economic development," HT Imam said, adding there is a strong urge for administrative reforms.
Officials said enactment of Civil Service Act, Promotion and Placement Rules, clustering of different ministries and divisions, and introducing e-governance are also among the steps to be taken to overhaul the bureaucracy.