Energy sector needs tidying up

Despite the importance of the sector, however, the energy ministry and its various revenue generating affiliates are plagued with administrative and operational anomalies, which render them rather dysfunctional in handling the serious responsibilities that they must undertake in the nation's interest.

The fact that there have been seven secretaries in the energy ministry in the past three years says it all. What is needed is continuity at the top and not a revolving door to the office of the secretary, causing paralysis and confusion.

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The frequent change of secretaries is indicative of a greater malaise in the entire ministry, which is under-staffed and mired in administrative and operational troubles. There is no recognised chain of command or established procedure or system in place, with the result that morale is very low and the whole ministry is operating in a dysfunctional way.

So confused is the current state of affairs that the secretary himself heads three boards of Petrobangla affiliates, calling into question their ability to operate independently and creating all manner of unnecessary conflicts.

This kind of turmoil would be cause for concern in any ministry, but all the more so in the energy sector. In addition to the onerous responsibilities that the ministry shoulders, negotiations with respect to the Tata investment and the tripartite gas pipeline deals require expertise and continuity, neither of which seems to be in abundant supply.

Part of the problem is the fact that the portfolio is headed by the PM who has tremendous pressure on her time not to perhaps allow any single-minded pursuit of the ministry's work. The duties of the energy adviser remain unclear, and perhaps what is missing is a full minister who could pull the ministry together and provide much-needed direction and leadership.