CDA to freeze salaries of non-compliant officers

Officials of grade-16 and above fail to furnish degrees despite repeated reminders

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA), as a last resort, has intimated its 700-plus officers that their salaries will be frozen if they fail to submit their educational credentials for verification by September 10.

A notification issued by the CDA chairman’s secretariat has directed the authority’s administration wing to furnish details of officers of grade 16 and above, who do not submit their degrees to the accounts department.

“It has now been decided that the salary due on October 1, 2015 will not be released to officers who would not comply the orders regarding submission of degrees with the CDA by September 10,” the notification directs the accounts department.



It says the chairman has taken serious note of non-furnishing of original degrees/certificates by the CDA officers (BPS 16 and above) despite repeated reminders by the secretary CDA board.

According to the authority’s HR department, there are some 1,100 gazetted officers who are serving in grade 16 and above. Of them, only around 400 have submitted their original educational documents for their verification from the Higher Education Commission or respective educational boards.

The issue of degrees verification of CDA officers traces back 2012 when the Cabinet Division — the controlling body of the CDA — directed the civic agency to verify its officers’ educational credentials.

Following cabinet division’s directions, on October 23, 2012 the CDA board directed that degree verification for the authority’s employees should be completed within a month.

That one month has since turned into 35 months and the process is yet to be completed.

In April 2015, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) also took notice of the issue with a direction that the process should be completed at the earliest.

Last week, CDA issued a press statement in the media over the issue.

It said, “Any officer, who will fail to submit degrees within the next 15 days will be considered without required academic qualification and stern action will be taken against him under the prevailing service rules.”

A three-member committee headed by the CDA director-general administration was recently mandated the task to get degrees of CDA officers verified.

When contacted, a senior officer of the administration informed that during the last three years the CDA issued a total of 13 circulars at different times asking the officers to submit their degrees. “Only a handful of officers responded positively to those circulars,” he said.

In 2013, the finance wing of the authority had estimated that the whole verification exercise would cost Rs7.2 million. In the first phase, it had released Rs 0.6 million for the purpose, but the amount was transferred back to the national kitty as it was not used within the stipulated time.

A few days ago, a senior CDA officer had an advertisement published in a newspaper claiming he has lost his educational credentials. He requested the individual who found them to return it to him.

During the last two years of the previous government, the CDA employed a number of individuals against grade 16 and 17. It is widely believed that a majority of these were political appointees who do not possess the required educational qualification.

“The employees’ lethargic response to earlier directions and disinterest at the highest level results in such unpleasant incidents which end up giving a bad name to the authority,” CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said when asked for his comments over the issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2015.