Sindh cabinet lifts ban on recruitment

Grants extension to doctors, paramedics hired on contract during Covid pandemic

KARACHI:

Sindh cabinet on Wednesday approved the lifting of the ban on recruitment in the provincial government departments and also granted an extension to the doctors, nurses and other staff who were appointed during the COVID-19 pandemic until June 30, 2024.

Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah presided over a meeting at CM House attended by provincial ministers, advisors, chief secretary, PSCM, Planning and Development Department chairman, and relevant secretaries. They discussed the ban on recruitment imposed by the previous government. Cabinet members highlighted thousands of vacant lower-grade posts in government departments, advocating for lifting the ban to improve departmental functioning and provide job opportunities for youth. With cabinet approval, Chief Minister Shah directed Law Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar and the Advocate General to pursue lifting the stay order against recruitment in court.

At the request of Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah the cabinet allowed School Education and Literacy Dept to continue the recruitment process of primary school teachers and junior elementary school teachers as per Teachers Recruitment Policy 2021 through IBA Sukkur.

Extension of contractual doctors

During the meeting, Sindh's Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho and Secretary of Health Rehan Baloch informed the cabinet that during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the Health Department, under the Chief Minister's directives, had hired doctors, nurses, paramedics, and other staff for a temporary period of 89 days.

Following this, based on the department's recommendation, the contracts of Covid doctors and nurses were extended several times until June 30, 2023. Subsequently, in compliance with a directive from the Sindh High Court in Karachi on March 17, 2023, 824 doctors and 324 staff nurses were referred to the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) to assess their suitability. While the SPSC recommended the appointment of 260 nurses out of 324, the decision regarding the doctors is pending.

In line with the Health Department's recommendation, the cabinet approved the extension of 705 Covid doctors and nurses for another year, from July 2023 to June 2024. Additionally, the extension of 374 technical and supporting paramedical staff, along with 2,957 skilled and supporting human resources from April 1, 2023, to June 2024, was endorsed as suggested by the Scrutiny Committee. An amount of Rs2,036.785 million was also approved by the CM to cover their salaries for the current financial year 2023-24.

50 dispensaries:

The cabinet also approved the handover of 50 government dispensaries (GDs) to People's Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) Sindh along with human resources and operational costs of Rs.120,799,950 from Sindh Human Capital Investment 1000 Days Integrated Health and Population Program "SIHPP" budgetary allocation for three months effective from April 2024.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2024.