Directorate of health: Ministry draws staff’s ire over shifting of directorate

Staff moved from Karachi to Islamabad faces multiple problems

ISLAMABAD:

The shifting of the Central Directorate of Health Establishment of the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) from Karachi to Islamabad last year has left the functioning of the department in jeopardy, as officials and junior staff want the decision reverted.

Department staffers in grades 2 through 15 who have been moved to the head office here in the federal capital told The Express Tribune that the ministry ‘suddenly’ decided to shift the office in June 2014 despite unwillingness of the staff.

According to the documents available with The Express Tribune, a posting order issued by the NHSRC on June 3, 2014 stated that approval had been granted to shift of the directorate head office from Karachi to Islamabad.

“This decision has paralysed us. We are forced to work in an office which does not even have enough tables or drawers to put the files in,” said one of the officials, pointing at heaps of bags filled with files.

The NHSRC Deputy Secretary, Sanaul Islam Butt says the decision to shift to the federal capital was made in 2011 by the federal government.

Officials at the directorate, who requested not to be named, argued that the decision was taken by the previous director of the directorate, Sherbaz Khan, keeping his personal interest in view, and no office protocol was followed or approval taken from the finance or establishment divisions.

On the other hand, Butt rubbished these claims. He said that the decision was taken in national interest as administrative procedures were not being carried out efficiently since the head office was in Karachi.

“The office was shifted in response to travelling restrictions imposed on Pakistan by international health regulatory bodies after four polio virus carriers entered Afghanistan unchecked in 2014,” he said. “[As a result] there was a need to run the office more vigilantly,” Butt added.

An official of the directorate told The Express Tribune on condition of anonymity that the move had nothing to do with the 18th Amendment. He explained that the directorate already had offices functioning all over Pakistan on important border routes, seaports and airports including Islamabad.

Directorate officials claim that the decision was imposed on staff despite the fact that all 26 employees were unwilling to work in Islamabad.

However, Butt said that these officials were not being forced to serve in the capital as they were free to apply for a posting on any vacant post in their home city.

On the other hand, the officials said that there were no vacant posts available in Karachi.

According to documents available with The Express Tribune, another letter was issued by the health ministry on 12 September 2014 stating that the method of reposting staff back to the sub-office without availability of post and budget could not be approved as it was not covered under the rules.

Officials also claimed that they were posted to Islamabad on false pretexts such as ensuring provision of proper housing. The officials also said that they had been forced to live in private hostels for the last year. An official said that the situation had left them in serious financial constraints, and he was sharing one room with four persons.

“Although I was hired as federal government employee I have worked in the department in Karachi for the last 23 years,” said an official nearing his retirement date.

Butt said that the issue was a simple case of staff’s unwillingness to live and work in Islamabad as all of them belong to Karachi and have spent their whole life in the city.

Director at the directorate, Muhammad Malik Bugti said that he had taken up the matter with the ministry several times, “but we are bound to obey the government”.

Officials said they had filed a case against the ministry on pretext of shifting the department without getting an approval from the prime minister, and forcibly posting entire staff to Islamabad.

“We decided to move court after the Health Minister, Saira Afzal Tarar rejected several of our appeals to either shift the department back to Karachi or accommodate us on surplus seats in our home city,” said an official.

The minister was unavailable for comment.

A letter has also been issued by the NHSRC suggesting disciplinary action against three directorate officials for speaking to the media on the issue. A copy of the letter is available with The Express Tribune.

The directorate is responsible for provision of health services at airports, water and land border crossings for outgoing passengers nationwide.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2015.