PESHAWAR, Sept 23: The NWFP government’s intended move to lift ban on recruitments in the public sector departments has elicited reservations from the World Bank, official sources told Dawn on Monday.

“World Bank wants the provincial government to continue the ban imposed on recruitments over eight years back,” said a senior official of the government.

There are indications from the MMA-led government that it is considering lifting ban to fill vacancies in various public sector departments and semi-autonomous bodies. Sources said the government had identified between 6,000 and 7,000 vacancies that it wanted to fill.

During separate meetings with Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani and Senior Minister Sirajul Haq on Thursday, the World Bank’s wrap-up mission expressed reservations on the move to lift the ban.

The mission had come to discuss various aspects of the Provincial Reforms Programme. Led by country director John Wall, the mission cautioned the provincial authorities against the financial problems the province could face in case the ban was lifted.

A handout issued by the directorate of information after meetings briefly mentioned the government’s growing needs to make recruitments in various departments. The chief minister was quoted as having told the mission that many departments were under-staffed and needed fresh recruitments.

Officials privy to talks said the government had tried to allay the Bank’s reservations by explaining that it would not create new posts but wanted to recruit staff against vacant seats.

According to the data, the government’s annual salary and pension bills’ requirements constitute well over 50 per cent of its revenue receipts. The province would need over Rs17 billion to pay salaries to its over 270,000 employees during the current financial year.