This amounts to almost 18 per cent of the gazette totals and is now and will into the future significantly negatively impact on the ability of the government to deliver statutory services. It has been officially explained that posts have fallen vacant over the years as people died, retired or resigned and these movements are planned for by every human resources department worldwide.
The deficit is almost entirely due to a general restriction on hiring by the previous government, which has left yet another poisoned cup for the incoming PTI government. Many of the vacant posts are at the upper end of the scale, with 9,235 vacancies at grade-17 or above and 69,390 at grade-16 and below. These are the posts that do the bread-and-butter work of governance that make sure the wheels keep turning, that passports get processed and a host of other administrative tasks as well.
All of the provinces have a shortfall in terms of posts they are allocated in the federal government. The appointment system is hamstrung by a quota system under Article 27 of the Constitution which fixed quotas for 40 years. This expired in 2013 but the PML-N government tried to extend it by another 20 years and then failed to get the relevant legislation passed. The net result is a truly monumental shambles that has no quick fix.
Even if the posts were freed for recruitment in the coming couple of months finding individuals of the appropriate qualification and education levels, to say nothing of candidates that have been able to pass the CSS exam, is going to be nigh impossible. There simply is not a potential pool of recruits waiting on the sidelines to fill the posts. The government needs to move fast to recruit to the most essential posts nationally and plan for the medium term to plug the deficit.
Another self-inflicted wound.
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