'Bureaucracy not keeping health ministry in the loop in K-P'

Senior officials complain transfers and postings continue to be made without their knowledge


Umer Farooq September 16, 2018
K-P Health Minister Hisham Inamullah Khan. PHOTO: FACEBOOK

PESHAWAR: It is a fact that the previous government led by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) expressed its concerns over how they believed ‘bureaucracy was hurdling’ things, the incumbent PTI government seems to have been facing the same problem.

Apart from other provincial departments, a similar situation was observed at the K-P health department when a ban was imposed on transfers and postings. However a similar notification was issued later in the same day and the first notification, ban on transfer and posting, was withdrawn.

“No, there has not been any notification issued by the ministry,” one of the aides of the newly appointed Health Minister Hasham Inamullah told The Express Tribune. It has been over a week since the notification was withdrawn nevertheless, the health ministry was not kept in the loop.

This, however, was not the only such occurrence, another notification was sent where the ministry transferred and posted a management cadre BPS-17 officer at district Khyber and that too ‘against the vacant post,’ which was never a vacant one. The health ministry was also reportedly excluded from this information.

“This is a very serious concern and if it is not taken up, I wonder what to expect next,” senior health department officials informed adding that the newly appointed minister has just recently taken charge of the ministry and it would take time for him to understand things.

The official, who requested anonymity keeping in view the nature of the issue, stated that despite having banned transfers and postings, the recent transfer of an agency surgeon and that too reportedly of a person who was not from the ‘management cadre,’ suggests things were not going in the right direction.

“It was done initially for the reason that I know who is posted where. It serves as a sort of map for me since I have just resumed the office,” Inamullah informed. He however added that the ban was not withdrawn rather relaxed after the ministry was conveyed that different things were in the pool and a sudden ban would create problems.

“I was given solid reasons and this was why the ministry ordered relaxing the ban but it does not mean we will not ban transfers again rather we are coming up with a new plan where a list is being prepared,” he informed adding specialists doctors, trainee medial officers and medical officers will be posted at against sanctioned posts and their native areas.

While talking about the recent notification of posting an agency surgeon in district Khyber, Inamullah stated that with the recent increase in dengue viral infections, he was not satisfied with the previous surgeon, he further added that though the notification carried the words ‘against the vacant post,’ such was not really the case. “This is not a vacant post and I will look into the issue if the newly posted doctor was from the management cadre,” the minister informed.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2018.

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