Public Administration must be free from it's colonial hangover: Speakers

The public administration must be freed from its colonial mindset, speakers at a view-exchange meeting with the Public Administration Reform Commission said today.

They said, "The British rulers developed the public administration system to govern the citizens of the subcontinent by instilling a mindset that the administrators are kings and the people are vassals. This legacy in the administration has persisted for the last 100 years."

"For reforming the administration, the initiative should focus on removing the colonial mindset and including curricula in their training to develop public administrators as servants of the people," they recommended.

The speakers also stressed the need to free the administration from political influence. They said, "In recruiting, posting, and promoting public administrators, political affiliation is often considered a criterion. This encourages cadres to participate in politics and cultivate good relationships with political leaders. If political affiliation is not considered, this issue would diminish."

Speakers from different professions and sectors of society made these recommendations at the view-exchange meeting held at the conference hall of Chattogram Circuit House.

Chaired by Farida Khanam, deputy commissioner of Chattogram, the meeting was addressed by members of the Public Administration Reform Commission, including Mohammad Aiyub Miah, Mohammad Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan, Mihraz Ahmed, student representative Mehedi Hasan, and Kamal Uddin, pro-vice-chancellor of the University of Chittagong, among others.

The speakers emphasised the need for a social movement to change the mindset of the masses, discouraging them from indulging in corruption. They said, "The people who join public services come from our society. They act according to our social culture. So, if we truly want change, we must transform our society, and for this, we need a nationwide social movement."

"The 2024 mass uprising, which claimed the lives of several hundred students and common people, has given us a chance to rebuild the nation, and we must not let this opportunity go unused," the speakers said.

Responding to the recommendations, commission member Mohammad Aiyub Miah said, "All the institutions of public services have been nearly destroyed by the fascist government, rendering the administration almost dysfunctional. Public servants, who were supposed to serve the country's people, have instead begun serving the politicians."

"We have been tasked with making recommendations to reform the public administration. We are trying to reach out to citizens to hear their demands. We will soon compile all the recommendations and submit them to the government as a report. It is up to the government to implement the recommendations," he added.