Massive irregularities were found in recruitment and promotion at Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), according to an audit.

The independent regulatory body appointed over 100 staffers, including a commissioner, and promoted at least a dozen officials to different posts from 2009 to 2018, violating rules and regulations.
It recruited manpower having lack of required educational qualifications and exceeding age limit, violating the conditions of circulars.

Even, retired government employees were appointed although there is no provision of hiring former public servants, as per the audit report obtained by the Daily Sun.

The audit conducted from October 4 to November 11, 2020 found that many officials were promoted although they lacked qualifications, experiences and exceeded the government age bar.

Besides, massive irregularities were found in the BTRC recruitments done in 2018 and 2019, according to the audit report.

Contacted, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Mustafa Jabbar told the Daily Sun that action will be taken as per the audit report. “The audit has been conducted to dig out departmental issues and there’s no option that those will be ignored without taking any action,” he said.

A delegation of auditors conducted an issue-based audit on revenue collection activities and monitoring on management during 2016-17 and 2019-20 fiscal years.
According to the report, M Rezaul Kader was appointed as a commissioner of BTRC in 2017 by violating Bangladesh Telecommunication Act 2001 and Bangladesh Government Servants (Conduct) Rules 1979.

According to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Act, no person shall be qualified for appointment to, or for holding, the office of Commissioner, who is, in the capacity of an owner, shareholder, director, officer, partner or consultant, directly or indirectly interested.

The licence of Kader’s wife-owned organisation ‘SMA Telecom’ was not cancelled even after his appointment as commissioner, while two organisations of his two siblings -- MRK TEL and CQS -- are still running.

Some 29 people, including 27 assistant directors, an administrative officer and a deputy assistant director, were appointed in 2009 without taking any competitive test.

Even, they were recruited showing them as departmental candidates just after publishing a circular in national daily newspapers violating the recruitment rules as well as the organogram.

But no one of them was departmental candidate, said the audit report.

According to the rules, a person has to work at BTRC for at least two years to become a departmental candidate, but no one of them fulfilled that criterion.

BTRC also recruited 30 people, including a deputy director, five assistant directors, an administrative officer, three office assistants, one protocol assistant, seven MLSS and 11 drivers, in 2009 even after they exceeded the approved age limit.

M Golam Razzaq was appointed as a deputy director although he crossed his age limit for government job one year and nine months ago while M Delwar Hossain was appointed as an assistant director after two years and 11 months and deputy assistant director M Israfil Haque was appointed after one year and six months into exceeding his age limit.

Dewan M Faruk Ahmed was appointed as a protocol assistant after 6 years, Sheikh Moazzem Hossain and Rezaul Karim were appointed as office assistants after exceeding the age limit by 16 years and five years and six months respectively while Abdul Jalil Hawlader crossed the age limit by nine years and 11 months during his appointment as MLSS and driver Shahid Ali Babu seven years.

Besides, 21 people, including one deputy director, three senior assistant directors, five assistant directors, one administrative officer and 11 deputy assistant directors, were appointed permanently by violating Recruitment Rules-2009 after showing them departmental candidates.

BTRC also recruited M Nurunnabi and Begum Sabina Islam as senior assistant directors without taking any written test and viva voce.

Sharmin Sultana was recruited as an assistant director by violating the age limit and condition of educational qualifications. According to the circular, the candidate must have to attain master’s degree but she permanently joined the BTRC in 2012 while her certificate of master’s of sciences in telecommunication engineering was submitted to the regulatory body in 2014.

Three others, including Nafisa Mallick and Asaduzaman, were appointed as assistant directors in technical posts although they had no academic qualifications.

This is not the end. They were also promoted to deputy directors later.

Besides, 17 retired government employees were appointed as drivers violating section 5(1) of the Public Servants (Retirement) Act. According to the law, no public servant who has retired from service shall be re-employed in any manner in the service of the Republic or of any corporation, nationalised enterprise or local authority.

As per the report, retired government drivers, who are already enjoying pension benefits, including M Motaleb Mia, M Abul Kashem, M Hafizur Rahman, Mia Ahidul Islam, M Abdul Halim, M Dulal Mia and M Mohor Ali Mia, were re-appointed as government employees at the age of 54 years and two months, 47 years and seven months, 46 years and eight months, 46 years and six months, 46 years and two months, 45 years and 10 months and 45 years and two months respectively.

Besides, the BTRC did not preserve the list of results of the recruitment tests.

During recruitments in 2018 and 2019, it hired Management Information System department of Dhaka University for taking examination but no result sheet of MIS letter head was found.

Even, the BTRC failed to submit the report despite repeatedly sought by the audit organisation in the name of so-called privacy.

Three deputy directors were promoted to the rank of director in 2014 although they had no required four-year experience as deputy director.

MA Taleb Hossain, Aftab M Rashedul Wadud and M Yakub Ali Bhuiyan discharged their duties as deputy director for three years and 26 days, 11 months and 24 days and six months and nine days respectively before the promotion.

M Towfiqul Alam was promoted as assistant director in 2015 and posted at the Legal and Licensing department although he attained third class in Honours (LLB).

There is a risk of irregularity in promotion for superseding seniors in the list, according to the audit report.

Beside, many officials were promoted from general and legal divisions to technical division which may impact BTRC’s work, it said.

BTRC Chairman Shyam Sunder Sikder told the Daily Sun that the commission will face it legally. “The incumbent commission inherited the irregularities. If there’s any fault, it’s the responsibility of the commission. But, there’s no fault of those who were recruited and promoted,” he said.

“No one is above the law. The government will take the decision over the issue,” he added.