Financial constraints: Fate of 400 NADRA employees in limbo

The database authority is deciding whether contracts of the officials be renewed

ISLAMABAD:

With its international contracts in limbo, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) is preparing to let go over 400 of its contractual employees.

NADRA refused to extend contracts to nearly 468 employees – which includes some 70 employees associated with Safe City Project. The management has instead issued a letter asking them to justify their appointment and performance during their stay.

Majority of these employees were inducted during the last government of Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) and their contracts have recently been run off.

A senior official at NADRA’s administration wing says that the move is “primarily because of financial reasons as the authority in recent past failed to win any significant international contract which caused a monetary setback to the autonomous organisation”.

While officials facing possible termination say contracts of a number of ‘influential’ contractual employees have already been extended on pick and choose basis.

Absence of structure, rules

The sudden termination has once again brought forward the issue of the absence of any service structure in NADRA which has forced the affected employees to cry foul saying ‘no standard procedure has been adopted while taking this decision’.

The database authority is governed under NADRA Ordinance 2000, which bestows its head abundant powers in terms of hiring, promoting or firing any of the employees in the name of ‘greater interest’ of the authority.

Although NADRA employees service regulation 2002 also exists but it lacks rules regarding appointment, promotions or transfers, according to a senior official.

Section 21 (a), 21 (b) and 35 of the Ordinance speaks about limitless powers of the chairman. These sections are related to procedure for appointment by promotion in the authority, special promotions etc.

Owing to this loophole, the database authority comprising of 16,000 employees has more than 25 director generals, some of them directly inducted against this high position, and over 100 directors.

In other government departments, like the CDA which is also an autonomous body with some 18,000 employees, there are only eight DGs and around 22 directors.

The practice of out of turn promotions sans a definite timeframe of stay in a specific grade is also in much vogue.

Documents available with The Express Tribune suggest that since 2008 some 12 individuals have directly been appointed against the post of directors (BPS-19) and a number of them are below the age of 40 years.

Besides, there are also a number of beneficiaries of prevailing system who obtained promotions out of turn in a matter of a few years.

Ehtasham Shahid, a director general, was inducted in NADRA in 2003 against the post of assistant director. Within a short span of nine years he was given three promotions and is currently holds position of basic scale 20. Similar is the case of Zulfiqar Ali, DG (operations and technical), who was appointed as assistant director in 2002.

Documents suggest another over 50 officers managed to grab higher positions within a matter of a few years.

Another practice includes hiring of services of fresh graduates against special pay and packages on contract base.

The employees who are facing termination are employed against lower grades.

A NADRA official, who declined to be named, said contracts of over 450 officials are not extended but no one was terminated so far. “Management is currently assessing the performance and qualification of these employees,” he said adding services of those employees would be retained who meet the criteria and merit while the rest would be laid off.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 12^th, 2015.