Ghost employees found in WSSP

Tube-well operators hire replacements, shirk duties

PESHAWAR:

A number of ghost employees have been found in Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP), a company providing sanitation services in the district, official sources told The Express Tribune on Wednesday.

They said that the shocking discovery has forced the authorities to initiate a thorough investigation into the matter. Strict action will be taken against those found responsible.

Similarly, dozens of tube-well operators have been found absent from duty despite the fact that they have been receiving salaries regularly.

Some tube-well operators have hired replacement employees to operate these tube-wells while they are engaged in businesses.

“During inspection it was found that irrelevant people were operating the tube-wells. Many of these replacements had been hired by the real operators for a small monthly sum to perform duty in their place without drawing attention from the relevant authorities,” said an official. This arrangement has allowed the real tube-well operators to stay home or run their own small businesses.

“After receiving information the authorities decided to verify the complaints and formed inspection teams who visited tube-wells and found the complaints to be correct,” he added.

After the initial findings, action has been ordered against errant employees, according to WSSP officials.

Similarly, sanitation employees posted for cleaning Shahi Kattha were also found absent from duty.

Most of the employees are absent during morning and evening hours.

Furthermore, some ghost employees are also among the sanitation staff. Most of the absent employees were recruited on the basis of party affiliation in the past and they don’t come to the office or do field work either.

“All the absent employees would be removed from service once a detailed report is submitted by the inspection teams,” the official said.