21 ghost employees found in health dept

An inquiry has found recruitment of 21 illegal employees including technical staff and midwives in the Lower Kohistan Health Department who have been receiving regular salaries without performing their duty.

This group includes 14 grade-12 surgical, radiology, pharmacy, pathology, anesthesia, and primary health technicians—as well as seven midwives.

The inquiry report recommends recovering the amount of salaries drawn by the long-absent staff and taking action against them according to government rules and regulations.

Furthermore, it is advised to obtain all necessary documents and records related to these irregularities from the former District Health Officer (DHO) and Senior Clerk.

The inquiry report has been submitted to the Health Department. An inquiry committee was appointed on December 21, 2024, and was ordered to submit its report within fourteen days.

According to a report presented to the Health Department, the last recruitment at the DHO Kohistan office was conducted on May 18, 2022.

However, after joining the DHO office, the staff did not fulfil their duties. Despite their absence, they continued to draw salaries for 28 months, with the exception of October 2024, when their salaries were halted.

They also did not receive their last three months' pay.

During the inquiry, the staff claimed they had been assigned duties at the DHO office but failed to provide satisfactory evidence to the committee regarding their responsibilities.

In terms of their responsibility, they were neither present at the DHO office nor was their attendance recorded, and there was no evidence of their presence at any facility.

The staff were summoned to respond on October 4. Their attitude toward their duties has been deemed non-serious, and they have been absent for an extended period.

Although all relevant recruitment records were submitted. However, the recruitment procedure carried out by the former DHOs and former senior clerks (who were then DHO) did not provide the necessary information.

The technical staff and midwives' hearing was conducted on December 13, 2024, and the midwives' hearing was conducted in the presence of female staff from the Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Centre.

The inquiry indicated that the midwives were recruited in April 2022; however, they did not report to their assigned stations. Only Sameena and Mubarak Begum were recruited at the Basic Health Unit (BHU) Jijal, as per their recruitment orders, but they did not report for duty.

Records show that Sameena was absent for 2.5 months before being transferred to the Civil Dispensary in Simodra.

Meanwhile, Mubarak Begum, who was assigned to BHU Majghil, has been absent since September 2022 and has only worked for a total of 15 days.

The inquiry report's recommendations indicate that the former District DHO and the senior clerk did not provide their statements to the inquiry committee and failed to submit the recruitment procedure.

Since their recruitment, all technical staff have been found absent from work. Additionally, all midwives were absent from the recruitment station.

Sameena was absent for 2.5 months, while Mubarak Begum was absent for 28 months. Strict departmental action should be taken against them.