PESHAWAR, Feb 11: Dozens of senior doctors of the health department have been working with international organisations in violation of rules set forth by the provincial government for deputation and appointment of civil servants in donor-driven projects and international organisations.

“About 45 senior doctors have been working with international organisations for seven to 10 years while rules allow employment on deputation initially for five years in two instalments,” sources said.

Last year, the government had set employment length of three years, extendable by another two years for civil servants in line departments, they said. Citing rules, they said an employee should not be considered for deputation till the passage of four years after his last deputation, but these employees had been able to continue their jobs with donor organisations or on projects for a decade or even more.

The government had also ordered formation of departmental project selection committees to look into cases of deputation of employees to project posts and ensure that such appointments were made on merit. The committees were yet to be formed and the people were working with donor agencies without the desired experience, the sources added.

Under the prescribed law, officials willing to join posts in donor organisations or projects were required to inform the health department to be posted on deputation with any other organisation. Initially, the officials are allowed for three years after which they will seek two-year extension in deputation through proper channel.

Furthermore, according to the criteria for such jobs, the government had made appointments against such posts performance-based, but the employees in question did not inform the government about their jobs and thus no question regarding their experience or service record or performance could arise.

The sources said a majority of the doctors come into contact with donor agencies while representing the health department in discussing projects and programmes with them and subsequently took up lucrative jobs with them.

As a rule, they were allowed three years’ employment with donor organisations that was extended further by two years, they said, adding that after that they were not allowed further extension and it was mandatory upon them to resume work in the health department. Under the rules, in such cases the employees would work at least for three years in the health department before seeking recruitment with donor agency, they added.

The provincial government, in the fulfilment of Federal Ministry of Finance’s directive in September last year, had announced implementation of the new pay package for project posts, but leaves of these officials were not recorded as such, the sources said. The pay package, however, was yet to be put into practice, they added.

A committee constituted by the government to implement the policy of deputation for government employees had decided that project posts would be filled in line with the directives of the Federal Ministry of Finance under which the government was supposed to regulate postings of its employees on deputations to the projects and organisations by following proper selection criteria.

But it is yet to be done and the sources said these employees had also been able to maintain their seniority in the health department at par with those working regularly with the department.

According to them, the employees on deputation or leave become juniors to their fellow servants due to their non-availability in the department, but they got due promotions as if they were working in the department.

“Despite being on long leave, several of them are also drawing salaries from the department,” they added.

The ‘connection’ among officials in the health secretariat and directorate and the employees working in other organisations, had kept the high-ups in the dark about the matter, the sources said.