MoC limps without secy,despair grips ministry
Monday, 28 December 2009
FE Report
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has been functioning without its secretary for one month thanks to the reluctance of the government to strengthen the key ministry of the government, officials said.
The normal activities of the ministry and its six important departments ground almost to a halt due to the absence of the commerce secretary.
The immediate-past commerce secretary Firoz Ahmed attended his last office on November 25, who went on LPR (Leave Preparatory to Retirement) on November 30. Since then, the post of commerce secretary has been lying vacant.
Mostafa Mohiuddin, Additional Secretary, MoC, is now performing the routine activities of the commerce secretary as he was neither given the charge of a secretary nor promoted to the post of Acting Secretary, sources said.
Frustration among trade-related officials and dilly-dallying in policy making have become evident in MoC and its six departments due to the absence of its secretary, it is alleged.
The government departments like Export Promotion Bureau, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, Office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Tariff Commission, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms and Bangladesh Tea Board work under the MoC.
"We are navigating without our captain," a frustrated ministry official said.
He said ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India, the role of commerce ministry is vital. Besides, strong surveillance from the ministry is critical to checking the possible irregularities and addressing anomalies in the way of organising the Dhaka International Trade Fair, scheduled to kick off on January 1, 2010 in Dhaka.
"It seems the policy makers of the government have paid no heed to the declining trend of export earnings in recent months, unaware of the global trade dynamics and reluctant to strengthen the key ministry like the MoC," a top trade official at the Tariff Commission said.
"The commerce secretary to be posted should have past working experience in trade, finance and export related jobs."
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has been functioning without its secretary for one month thanks to the reluctance of the government to strengthen the key ministry of the government, officials said.
The normal activities of the ministry and its six important departments ground almost to a halt due to the absence of the commerce secretary.
The immediate-past commerce secretary Firoz Ahmed attended his last office on November 25, who went on LPR (Leave Preparatory to Retirement) on November 30. Since then, the post of commerce secretary has been lying vacant.
Mostafa Mohiuddin, Additional Secretary, MoC, is now performing the routine activities of the commerce secretary as he was neither given the charge of a secretary nor promoted to the post of Acting Secretary, sources said.
Frustration among trade-related officials and dilly-dallying in policy making have become evident in MoC and its six departments due to the absence of its secretary, it is alleged.
The government departments like Export Promotion Bureau, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh, Office of Chief Controller of Imports and Exports, Tariff Commission, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms and Bangladesh Tea Board work under the MoC.
"We are navigating without our captain," a frustrated ministry official said.
He said ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to India, the role of commerce ministry is vital. Besides, strong surveillance from the ministry is critical to checking the possible irregularities and addressing anomalies in the way of organising the Dhaka International Trade Fair, scheduled to kick off on January 1, 2010 in Dhaka.
"It seems the policy makers of the government have paid no heed to the declining trend of export earnings in recent months, unaware of the global trade dynamics and reluctant to strengthen the key ministry like the MoC," a top trade official at the Tariff Commission said.
"The commerce secretary to be posted should have past working experience in trade, finance and export related jobs."