Chattogram District Commissioner Mohammad Zahidul Islam Mia has urged government officials and employees to complete their daily tasks on the same day, saying that people’s expectations have increased while the value of time has also risen. He said the delivery of government services must change in line with these changing realities.
He made the remarks on Tuesday (September 29) while addressing officials and employees of the district administration.
Mohammad Zahidul Islam said completing assigned work on the same day is a responsibility of government officials because they occupy their positions to serve the people. If the work of a particular day is not completed, he said, the needs of the people seeking services that day will remain unmet.
Referring to the limited time available to people, the district commissioner said citizens do not have the opportunity to visit government offices repeatedly for the same service. He said people now respond more quickly when they do not receive services on time and government officials need to understand this reality.
“People may have everything now, but they do not have one thing—time,” he said, stressing that citizens cannot repeatedly spend their time on the same task.
The district commissioner also referred to the negative perceptions that sometimes develop among people about government officials and employees. He said no one wants to end a long career with a negative identity. Maintaining public trust, he said, requires responsibility, efficiency and timely service delivery.
Zahidul Islam advised officials and employees to evaluate their own performance every day. They should ask themselves whether they have given their full effort in carrying out their responsibilities and whether there was anything more they could have done.
He said officials should develop a sense of responsibility that prompts them to ask themselves whether an unfinished task was actually their responsibility and whether they should have completed it. Without such a sense of responsibility, he said, the government’s expected level of citizen service cannot be ensured.
Referring to artificial intelligence (AI) and automated technologies, the district commissioner said the nature of work is changing rapidly around the world. Therefore, no individual or profession should consider itself indispensable. Skills, thinking and working methods must change in line with technological developments, he said.
Sharing an experience from a visit to China, he said he had received room service through a robot at a hotel. Such technologies, he said, demonstrate how many conventional forms of work could change in the future.
“The world is changing,” Zahidul Islam said, adding that what matters is how much people can change themselves and whether they can bring necessary changes to their thinking, outlook and values.
He also stressed that improvements in human values are as important as advances in technology and modern facilities. In his view, although modern amenities have increased, greed, jealousy and the erosion of values have also increased in society.
The district commissioner also highlighted individual responsibility toward the country and society. He urged officials to ask themselves what they have contributed to society, what they have done for the country, whether they have contributed to the environment and what they are leaving behind for the world as human beings.
He said building a developed state also requires improvement in citizens’ thinking and mindset. “We all want a developed state and an improved social system. But we also need to see whether my own thinking and mindset are developed,” he said.
The district commissioner instructed officials to implement the government’s priority programmes with transparency and efficiency within the stipulated deadlines. Referring to canal excavation, tree planting, cleanliness and dengue prevention activities, he said such work should be carried out out of a sense of responsibility rather than due to pressure from senior officials or fear of disciplinary action.
“The government pays our salaries so that we can serve the government and the people,” he said, adding that important government tasks must be completed within the stipulated time with full transparency and efficiency. He also instructed officials to ensure that government-allocated funds are not wasted.
The district commissioner also stressed the importance of the physical well-being of government officials and employees. He said it is difficult to think clearly and work properly for the state and society without maintaining one’s own health.
Zahidul Islam said the district administration remains a place of public trust. Timely service, responsibility, efficiency and transparency, he said, are essential to strengthening that trust further.
