PESHAWAR: The Fata Disaster Management Authority on Friday sacked 22 employees of foreign-funded project over an administrative irregularity, saying their respective positions weren’t advertised before their recruitment.

It also asked 15 employees of the project to refund Rs1 million withdrawn in the name of fake training programme, said a notification issued here. The employees were associated with the Swedish Development Corporation.

The notification said FDMA director general Mahmood Aslam Wazir had terminated the services of 22 employees in light of the recommendations of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor’s Inspection Team, which conducted inquiry into the appointment of employees.

Asks 15 others to refund money claimed for fake training programme

The highly-paid sacked employees were recruited in 2017. The law and order department of the erstwhile Fata had conducted inquiry through the inspection team.

Names of the sacked employees include Mian Shakirullah, Sikandar Ali, Hazratul Mulk, Dur Shahwar, Taj Mohammad, Maqsood Hadi, Ayesha Gillani, Idress Jehan, Arif Khan, Usman Khan, Shakeela Begum, Gul-e-Arzo, Lutfia Ghulam, Syed Wjid Shah, Zilli Ali, Mukhtiar Khan, Sheraz Bacha, Kamran Khan, Sher Shah, Zohaib Usman, Umer Said and Rehmat Gul.

They performed duty in the project against different positions, including project manager, deputy programme manager and civil engineer.

According to the notification, project manager Mian Shakirullah received Rs150,000 a month as salary, while others got salary ranging from Rs18,500 to Rs150,000.

Another notification issued by the FDMA said the inspection team had ordered recovery of Rs1 million from 15 project employees, who allegedly withdrew the amount on account of conducting a fake training programme.

They include Ms Rana, Shakirullah, Mian Adil Zahoor, Asadullah, Khalid Saleem, Syed Wajid Shah, Zohaib Usman, Saif Ullah, Mohammad Zishan, Usman, Muneebur Rehman, Kamran Khan, Mohammad Ijaz, Sikandar Ali and M Mukhtiar.

The inquiry report said the training was conducted without taking the project head on board, while the training had no clear objectives and utility.

It also said the SDC was not informed about the programme.

“It was a private trip and not training in true sense which incurred a loss of Rs 1 million on entertainment,” said the notification, adding that the officials were paid travel and daily allowances without attending the training session.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2018