Govt calls for ethical,technology-driven civil service

The government has called for building a more skilled, accountable, ethical and technology-driven civil service to meet public expectations and ensure better delivery of public services.

The Prime Minister’s Adviser on Public Administration Md Ismail Zabihullah made the call while speaking as chief guest at a national consultation, titled “Capacity Needs Assessment (CNA) of the Bangladesh Civil Service”, at the BIAM Foundation in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The consultation was jointly organised by the Governance Innovation Unit (GIU) of the Prime Minister’s Office and UNDP Bangladesh. The adviser said people expect the current government to establish a transparent, efficient and citizen - friendly administration.

He said the capacity, performance and ability of civil servants to deliver services promptly are crucial to implementing the government’s five - year strategic reform and development framework for July 2026 to June 2031.

A policy or programme can succeed only when officials at the grassroots level implement it properly and deliver its benefits to people on time, he added.

Emphasising the need to modernise public administration to address emerging global challenges, Zabiullah said artificial intelligence (AI) and the effective use of data were transforming governance systems worldwide.

Referring to the experiences of Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, he said the government should move beyond conventional one-off training programmes and create opportunities for lifelong learning and competency-based professional development for civil servants.

He also stressed the need to equip Bangladesh’s civil servants with internationally recognised skills to make the country’s administration competitive at the global level.

Appreciating the Capacity Needs Assessment initiative, the adviser said it had identified several priority areas for strengthening the civil service.

These include public financial and procurement management, project implementation and management, AI and digital skills, data protection, climate change, trade and investment, legislative drafting and citizen-centric service delivery.

Developing officials’ competencies in these areas would help strengthen the overall capacity of public administration, he added.

Addressing government officials, Zabiullah said competent civil servants were essential to ensuring improved public services and urged them to become more skilled, ethical and technology-oriented.

UNDP Bangladesh Deputy Resident Representative Sonali Dayaratne attended the programme as a special guest.

Director General of the Governance Innovation Unit Dr Delwar Hossain and North South University Associate Professor Dr Rizwan Khair also spoke at the event.

Senior officials from different ministries and divisions took part in the consultation.