Civil servants should come up with innovative ideas: HPM Sheikh Hasina

"Government officials should not take their job as a routine service. Each of them must come up with innovative ideas in discharging duties for the welfare of people and progress of the country," she said while distributing Public Administration Award at Osmani Memorial Hall coinciding with Public Service Day on Sunday.

The premier said the civil service is meant to serve the people while civil servants are provided with required training at home and abroad so they could deliver their job to serve people in expected manner.

"These trainings should not be taken as a routine thing, the trainings should be used for the welfare of the people," she told the function organised by Public Administration Ministry.

Public Administration Minister Syed Ashraful Islam presided over the function while state minister Ismat Ara Sadek, Cabinet Secretary M Shafiul Alam and Senior Secretary of MoPA Mozammel Haq Khan also spoke.

This year 14 government officials were given the Public Administration Award in two categories.

The prime minister said the Bangabandhu's 1975 assassination had exposed the bureaucracy to instability for a long time but the then Awami League government had helped it overcome the situation and reset people's confidence on civil administration after taking office in 1996.

Sheikh Hasina said once upon a time the country was so poor that the people could not arrange one meal a day as ninety percent of them lived behind the poverty line.

"Now the poverty rate came down to 22 percent (and) our target is to bring it down further and make the country completely poverty and illiteracy free," she said.

Simultaneously, the premier said, the country must be freed from clutches of terrorism and drug as well and Bangladesh "has to earn capacity to address the natural calamities".

Sheikh Hasina said one of major goals of her government is to make Bangladesh a peaceful country in South Asia where no local or foreign conspiracy would work and no misrule would gain ground.

The premier said during the first tenure of her government after 1996 elections took a series of development programmes and the country which upset by the 2001 changes in political arena.

But, she said, after coming to power in 2009, the Awami League government took the country to a new era of development.

"Evil force tried to foil 2014 election to thwart out the development, but failed," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said civil administration, law enforcement agencies, and three armed services jointly made their efforts to continue the democratic process in 2014.

"Now development activities are visible and people now are confident about the country's progress due to continuation of the government," she added.

The prime minister, however, asked all concerned to remain careful to maintain the public confidence in the government and make the democratic process sustainable overcoming any adverse situation.

Laying importance on proper evaluation of the merit, experience and performance of the civil servants to move forward the country she said her government was very much careful about this.

"The government is giving promotion in the civil administration and taking other incentive programmes keeping this issue in mind," she said.

The premier said the government recently awarded the new pay scale 2015 for government employees with 122 percent hike and said such a hike overnight was rare in the world.

"Festival bonus for government employees are also being given with the same goal," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said the foremost goal of her government is to achieve the sustainable development goal by 2030 as designed by the United Nations.

So civil servants have to chalk out pragmatic plans to achieve the goal, she said.

The prime minister said the government could take highest budgetary plan for next fiscal year due to the support of the government employees.

The government has floated the plan, but it's the responsibility of the government employees to execute the plan, she said.

Sheikh Hasina hoped that the government employees would show the same spirit in the coming days in implementing the development programs of the government.

Congratulating the recipients of the Public Administration Award the prime minister hoped that development programs would be implemented and the country would certainly move forward if the government employees render their service with accountability.

Sheikh Hasina praised the initiative of the government officials Khulna district administration to raise a fund from their salary to rehabilitate the beggars.

The prime minister called for similar initiative in other districts saying in that case she would also donate fund from Prime Minister's relief fund to the generous programme.

Photo: Saiful Islam Kallol