'Hasty hirings' draw authority's attention

The hasty recruitment of 1,500 dengue petrol workers by the District Health Authority (DHA) in Rawalpindi has caught the attention of senior officials.

According to sources, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman, the Anti-Corruption Department Director General, the Chief Minister's Inspection Team chairman, and the health secretary have taken notice of the matter.

The recruitment process was initiated following an advertisement from the previous financial year, which aimed to hire personnel on an 89-day contract for the anti-dengue campaign. The DHA planned to recruit 1,500 sanitary patrol workers and 62 entomologists.

However, the speed and opacity of the recruitment process have sparked criticism and allegations of irregularities.

A recruitment committee was established, and within a single day, 4,800 candidates were interviewed, a merit list was prepared, and appointment letters were issued to the 1,500 selected candidates. This has led to accusations of a lack of transparency, prompting five former Sanitary Patrol personnel from the DHA, including a woman, to file complaints with various authorities.

The complainants, Rafafat Hussain, Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Qasim Khan, Bushra, and Malik Hamid Tanveer, approached higher authorities, alleging that the recruitment process was illegal.

The former personnel have raised several objections to the recruitment process. They argue that the advertisement for the positions, issued on March 10, 2024, called for candidates to appear before the Recruitment Committee on March 11, just one day after the advertisement was published. The complainants also pointed out that the recruitment committee was only formed on July 30, long after the end of the fiscal year in June, and a new advertisement should have been issued for the new financial year of 2024.

Their primary concern revolves around the speed at which the recruitment process is conducted.

The former personnel questioned the feasibility of this process, pointing out that interviewing 4,800 candidates in one day would require an average of one minute per interview, which would still take three days to complete.

This, they argue, casts serious doubt on the fairness and transparency of the recruitment.

The complainants further contend that the recruitment process not only lacked transparency but also violated the Recruitment Policy 2022 of the Government of Punjab. They argue that a new advertisement should have been issued in the new financial year instead of proceeding with the recruitment based on the previous year's advertisement.

Additionally, the former personnel highlighted the DHA's financial difficulties, noting that the authority is already indebted to the tune of millions of rupees due to outstanding payments to POL and goods suppliers. They questioned the DHA's ability to pay the monthly salaries of the newly recruited personnel, given its current financial situation.

In response to these allegations, the DHA's Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Asif Arbab, defended the recruitment process, stating that it fully complies with legal requirements.