PM directs secys to select projects thru inter-ministerial coordination

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina directed Monday the secretaries to select the development projects through effective inter-ministerial coordination taking public interest into consideration.
The other directives include maintaining the existing pace of Annual Development Programme (ADP) of the government and finalising the draft of the Civil Service Act.   
The directives of the PM came at a marathon meeting with the secretaries at the cabinet division. The meeting started at 12:30 pm and lasted until 4:15 pm where 61 secretaries were present.   
"The PM discussed with the secretaries the development activities of the government and implementation of vision 2021," cabinet secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told the media after the meeting at the conference room of the cabinet division on the day.
He said the meeting was on good governance, development plan of the government and its implementation.    
He said the PM lauded the role of the public administration in implementing the government's vision 2021 and development activities over the last five years.
The prime minister praised the role of the ministries especially the ministry of public administration for maintaining law and order during the January 5, 2014 national election.
Mr Bhuiyan said that the PM has urged the secretaries to strengthen the local government institutions through capacity building and decentralisation of administration.     
He said that PM emphasised on acquiring advanced knowledge and technology and long-term training for the public servants at the field level so that they could implement the government's development plan properly
The PM also emphasised the need for expansion of power transmission and distribution considering the increased power generation.
She also directed the secretaries to expand public hearing and develop its mechanism and create skilled manpower for facing the challenges of globalisation and exploit its opportunities.
The other directives of the PM are: to realise arrear power bills, land development taxes and make database for selecting the beneficiaries of the government's social safety programme.
Earlier, the cabinet, approved Monday the draft 'Surplus Public Servants Absorption Act, 2014 aiming to maintain the continuity of the Public Servants Absorption Ordinance 1978.
"The ministry of public administration (MoPA) has formulated the draft law as the ordinance was annulled by higher court," cabinet secretary told the media after the meeting.  
He said the draft will go to the ministry of law, justice and parliamentary affairs for vetting.
All the ordinances and laws promulgated and enacted during the two martial law regimes became null and void as the fifth and seventh amendments to the Constitution was declared illegal by the higher court, he added.
Later, the parliament gave validity to all the ordinances and laws through two umbrella acts. The cabinet directed the authorities concerned to write those laws, as deemed necessary, in Bangla making those time befitting.
The public servants become surplus due to administrative reorganisation or change in organisational structure or if any institution is dissolved for public interest or there is no necessity of posts.
The surplus public servants come under the ministry of MoPA and  then absorbed in the same position.
Asked about a media report in a national daily on Sunday about the crest and medal given during the Friends of Liberation War function, the cabinet secretary said that although the functions were jointly organised in phases by the Cabinet Division, Ministry of Liberation War affairs and the ministry of foreign affairs the Cabinet Division only looked after the citations of the awardees, guest lists and their distribution and planning of the seating arrangements.
He did not make any comment on the matter, saying that the ministry of liberation war affairs mainly looked into the procurement aspect while the decoration of the stage was supervised by the ministry of foreign affairs.
The report said that the crests that the awardees received during the Friends of Liberation War function do not contain the volume of gold and silver as announced earlier.
The cabinet was also apprised of the participation of a Bangladesh delegation, led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, at the 3rd BIMSTEC Summit held in Myanmar capital Nay Phi Taw on March 4, 2014 and participation of a Bangladesh delegation at the 37th governing council meeting of the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) held on February 19-20, 2014 in Rome.