Bureaucrats secure jobs, promotions without passing exams

Taking advantage of their political backing and the rampant corruption in government offices, many of Sindh’s powerful bureaucrats have dodged the system and skipped their mandatory departmental examinations throughout their three-decade services, The Express Tribune has learned.

Government officers are required to take departmental examinations for the confirmation of their jobs. Many bureaucrats, however, not only continued their jobs without qualifying the examination but also availed promotions and enjoyed high-ranking positions in the Sindh government during their careers.

These officers were appointed as assistant commissioners on a basic pay scale of Grade-17 (BPS-17) and had to pass the mandatory part-I and part-II examinations to be promoted to the position of an assistant collector. However, their posts were upgraded based on nepotism and political backing, and many became Grade-20 and Grade-21 officers without meeting the prerequisites for the posts. Some of them were even posted as administrative heads of their departments.

Many of them were appointed in 1991 and 1995 during the tenures of former Sindh chief ministers Jam Sadiq Ali and Syed Abdullah Ali Shah, respectively. Some of them were appointed directly under the discretionary powers of the then-chief ministers, while others were selected from different departments through the same method. Those chosen from other departments were mostly private secretaries of the chief ministers, ministers, and advisors.

According to sources, following an order of the Sindh High Court (SHC), the provincial government has asked a group of 17 officers to appear before the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) for the examination.

The Services and General Administration Department formally wrote a letter to the SPSC chairperson on March 13, requesting him to conduct the part-I and part-II examination for the post of an assistant collector.

The list sent to the SPSC comprised officers from BPS-17 to BPS-21 grades. Some of the names included Chiraguddin Hingoro, Makhdoom Shakil-Uz-Zaman, Makhdoom Aqil-Uz-Zaman, Ghulam Hyder Mangrio, Kamran Shamshad, Mohammad Ali Shah, Amjad Ali Laghari, Mohammad Aslam Khoso, Sikandar Ali Khushk, Imtiaz Rajpar, Mohammad Hussain Ghumro, Shahzad Tahir Thaheem, Ghulam Hyder Chandio, Aziz Ahmed Barlas, and Abdul Fahim Khan.

However, only two officers - Shahzad Tahir Thaheem and Abdul Fahim Khan - appeared in the examination. Some officers had also appeared before the SPSC for the same examination in February this year, but they could not qualify it, per a notification issued by the SPSC on July 3.

The issue was earlier also taken up before the Supreme Court (SC) and SHC, respectively. The courts, however, rejected the notion that chief ministers could exempt officers from appearing in departmental examinations under normal conditions.

In 2016, the Sindh government had produced details of 71 officers before the SC. The apex court was also informed that the government cancelled appointments of 17 officers under court directives as they were appointed in excess of the chief minister’s quota. Around 15 officers were brought from different departments of the Sindh government, out of which two belonged to the federal government. All of them were sent back to resume their previous positions.

Imtiaz Rajpar, one of the officers asked to appear before the SPSC for departmental examinations, said he could not do so due to professional engagements, adding that he was willing to reappear in the examination.

When approached, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the government would comply with court orders, adding that every officer appointed as assistant commissioner must pass the departmental examination.

“Officers who have not appeared in the examination will be asked to appear before the SPSC,” said the minister. “The Sindh government has also stopped the postings and promotions of Grade-17 officers, serving as assistant commissioners, if they have not passed the departmental examination.”

He added that some of the officers had been removed from their postings and the Sindh government had constituted a committee to examine and decide all such cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2020.