Burgeoning problem: SHC to resolve issue of KMC employees’ salaries

SHC also to ensure the payment of pension and salaries to the KMC's retired and serving employees before September 21

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) intervened to resolve the issue of the non-payment of pension and salaries to 80,000 Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) employees.

The SHC bench directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) authorities on Tuesday to examine the instructions received by it from the federal government to transfer funds to the provincial government.



A division bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, also ordered the provincial finance authorities to ensure the payment of pension and salaries to the KMC's retired and serving employees before September 21. These directives came after the bench heard the petitions filed by the KMC Sajjan Union and Justice Helpline president Advocate Nadeem Sheikh against the KMC authorities for not paying salaries and pension to its employees.

Read: Delays in payment: KMC education dept salaries on hold

The bench also directed the SBP's officers to examine the data available to the bank with regard to instructions it received for the transfer of the funds from the federal government to the provincial government.  "This is an administrative matter," said Akhtar. "Appropriate funds [within certain statutory parameters and framework] should be remitted from various accounts." This will ensure that the KMC staff is paid in a timely manner and resolve the problem at hand, he claimed.

Mismanagement of funds

SHC's inspection team-II member Abdullah Channa filed a report, stating that there are adequate funds for payment of the salaries and pension to the employees.

But, due to mismanagement of the administration the payments are not made on time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th,  2015.