State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak has directed BTCL to conduct an external IT audit within the next month in addition to the annual inspection report and internal audit to make it a profitable company. In this case, he advised the BTRC Chairman to hire competent administrators from outside the Board of Directors. At the same time, he asked the Managing Director for copies of the board meeting minutes of the last 5 years, the list of vacant posts, the list of contract appointees and the corporate strategy plan and annual performance agreement.
He asked for this information in a discussion meeting with the officials of Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Limited (BTCL) on Wednesday morning. At the same time, he announced a strict position with the importance of integrity, transparency and accountability.
At that time, Secretary of Post and Telecommunication Department Abu Hena Morshed Zaman was present by his side. Besides BTCL Managing Director Md. Anwar Hossain, top officials of the organization were present in this meeting. Zunaid Ahmed Palak gave an advance warning to close the spending sectors after five months if the officials fail to convert them into profitable organizations.
He said, to build a smart BTCL, profitable sources of income should be raised by June 30. Those that are not profitable will be closed. Where waste is occurring, it must be stopped if it cannot be reduced.
The state minister also said that BTCL will not make any personal decisions regarding the officials’ intentions. Don’t get emotional. We will not be influenced by any group or syndicate. Only that which is good for the country and the people will be done. Our aim is to increase the quality of service by saving time, money and expenses. And everything will be through data analysis.
Declaring zero tolerance on the question of integrity, he said, there will be no opportunity for correction if bribery or corruption allegations are received against anyone on the board of BTCL. Irregularities in any procurement process will lead to punishment. It will start from today. Nothing can be hidden. Any decision should be made publicly. A proper system for receiving complaints and suggestions should be developed.
After the speech, BTCL’s income-expenditure and working procedures were reviewed through a presentation.