Traditionally, civil servants from the ministry of commerce are sent to serve in these specialised wings of the Bangladeshi embassies. But most of them seem to look at their posts as sinecures
Staffing Bangladeshi missions abroad
S M Nurul Huda
Bangladeshi missions abroad are limited in number. What creates more concern is that the commercial wings in the real sense of the term exist in only a limited number of them and even these limited number of commercial wings have been suffering badly from not having adequate staff at their disposal.
Clearly, the imperative is to fill these positions at the understaffed commercial wings of the missions at the fastest. But the staffing must not follow the tradition of dispensing favours to loyal bureaucrats. The posts must go to really dynamic and resourceful persons . Traditionally, civil servants from the ministry of commerce are sent to these specialised wings of the Bangladeshi embassies. But most of them seem to look at their posts as sinecures. This will have to change. There is no reason why this tradition should not be broken to put the right man in the right place.
It is also important to staff the Bangladeshi missions with ones having specialist knowledge about exporting manpower.
In the present circumstances when manpower export from Bangladesh is declining worryingly, truly devoted labour attaches or the like appointed in our embassies in greater number can play a significant role for a turnaround in the situation. From searching for more openings for our workers abroad to discharging greater representative functions in the interests of our workers already staying abroad, the energetic presence of such staff at Bangladeshi embassies has become indispensable.
Government may go for recruitment of suitable persons with the background and talent for these posts from outside the civil services. They should then be given renewable contractual appointment for, say, about a year or two with fixed annual targets set before them for preparing reports on trade openings, actual establishment of contacts between Bangladeshi exporters and importers of the host countries, between Bangladeshi manpower exporters and the overseas employers, holding of exhibitions of Bangladeshi products, etc.
The appointments and contracts may be continued on fulfilment of the set target but rescinded for non fulfilment of targets. Rewards may be given for surpassing the targets. In other words, there should be clear policies to appoint truly capable persons in these posts in the first place to promote the countrys trade, manpower export and economic activities.
They must be obliged to work under a framework in which they will realise that their jobs are not for passing time luxuriously abroad or spending fruitlessly the entertainment part of the budgets of embassies. They should be at their toes knowing that retaining their jobs and the perks depend on meeting clearly set commercial or economic targets.
Only such a well laid structure of accountability, goals, penalties and rewards for the ones to hold key commercial posts abroad in the missions will promote the countrys economic interests.
The writer is a retired civil servant
