May 12, 2008	Monday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 6, 1429

RAWALPINDI, May 11: The tens of thousands of posts lying vacant in the Punjab government departments for long will be filled only after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Mian Shahbaz Sharif wins the coming by-election and is installed as the chief minister of the province.

Official sources say the provincial government has strictly warned all departmental heads against hiring new staff and has asked them to furnish the details of the number of their employees, revenue targets and other records.

A senior official in Services and General Administration (S&GA) department told Dawn from Lahore that more than 100,000 posts were lying vacant in various institutions across the province particularly in education sector and autonomous bodies (civic agencies).

Institutions directly involved in providing services to public on daily basis are suffering most from the prolonged ban on appointments. The situation has affected the performance of civic agencies which has led to rise in public anger, said the official who did not wish to be named.

In Rawalpindi district alone, over 2,400 teaching posts and some 140 headmasters/headmistress posts are lying vacant as revealed by EDO (Education) Chaudhry Yusuf two weeks ago.

Recently, the provincial government had announced that it had lifted ban on appointments but no notification was issued permitting recruitment of new staff.

Civic agencies, particularly town municipal administrations and water distribution agencies, badly need staff for providing municipal services on time. There is acute dearth of sewer men, sanitary workers, water supply staff and other employees.

Asked why the ban on recruitment was persisting even after a PML-N government has taken power in the province, he said: “What I know is that the ban would stay until PML-N leader Mian Shahbaz Sharif takes over as chief executive of the province.”

On the other hand, the new provincial government was very quick in transferring and reshuffling of officers and various district administrations by either elevating grade 18 officers to DCOs or terminating re-employed skilled retired army officers.

For instance executive district officer (EDO) Jamal Mustafa has been appointed as DCO Rawalpindi while his predecessor Irfan Elahi and some senior magistrates and police officials have been transferred to remote areas, apparently for carrying out the orders of the previous rulers and political rivals of the PML-N, the Chaudhrys of Gujrat.