Ghost workers haunt education dept

Fictitious employees will be identified via biometric attendance, payment of salaries in banks

HYDRABAD:

The caretaker Sindh local government minister Muhammad Mubeen Jumani has said the ministry has planned to take action against the ghost employees through measures like biometric attendance, payment of salaries in bank accounts and verification through NADRA. He acknowledged while talking to a delegation of Hyderabad Chamber of Small Trade and Small Industry (HCSTSI) at Hyderabad Club on Friday that further improvement is required in the work of Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) in Hyderabad.

"The biometric system will help dig out which employees regularly attend duty and which ones don't," he believed. He assured that he will visited Hyderabad again to take up the solid waste management problems. He said he wanted the people of Hyderabad to remember his services for the city.

According to him, the revenue generated by the local bodies in Hyderabad is spent on the payment of salaries. The Mayor of Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (HMC) Kashif Ali Shoro spoke about the shortcomings in the services of the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), which is responsible for water supply and drainage in the city.

The mayor emphasized that if the public sector consumers of WASA, which mostly belong to the Sindh government, timely paid their utility bills WASA's financial woes will ease to a great extent.

The chamber's president Muhammad Farooq Shaikhani gave a detailed briefing about the dismal performance of Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA), WASA and Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and sought corrective measures.

The chamber's Kashif Shaikh said it is incumbent on a government to launch low-cost housing schemes for the low income groups. He pointed out that such a scheme was started in Hyderabad on a huge scale under the name of Gulistan-e-Sarmast around 15 years ago but the project is very far from complete because of poor performance of HDA. Deputy commissioner Tarique Qureshi, Director General HDA Zahid Hussain Shar, Municipal Commissioner Anees Ahmed Dasti and other officials were also present in the meeting.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2023.