HYDERABAD: The health department has transferred financial powers at Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) Jamshoro, a newly created entity, to a senior doctor, even though the Sindh government has appointed a director finance for LUH Hyderabad/Jamshoro under the Sindh Teaching Hospitals (Establishment of Management Board) Act 2020.

The director finance, appointed by the government through a competitive process, was first authorised to look after financial affairs for the smooth functioning of LUH Jamshoro after it was separated from LUH Hyderabad in June.

Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO) powers were later transferred to a senior doctor of LUH Jamshoro as an interim arrangement. This appeared to conflict with the Act, a law specific to tertiary hospitals, enacted by the government to govern the management of teaching hospitals.

In doing so, the health department appeared to have bypassed the statutory provisions of the Act. Zaheer Abbas Bhatti, the director finance, declined to comment when contacted on why the health department had modified its directive to transfer powers from him to a doctor.

The health department separated LUH Jamshoro from LUH Hyderabad in June 2026. The Sindh finance department created separate cost centres for the two hospitals, along with several new posts, excluding that of a director finance.

Sindh’s teaching hospitals are governed under the Act, which created two specific posts: director finance and director administration & procurement.

The health department did not fill these posts even after the Act came into force. A Sindh High Court (SHC) bench headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar ordered on Sept 21, 2021, that they be filled within three months. The appointment of directors finance in Larkana and Hyderabad was nevertheless delayed.

Subsequently, the SHC Sukkur bench ordered on March 3, 2023, that charge of the post of director finance for the two teaching hospitals be handed over to the vice-chancellors of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University, Larkana, and the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS), respectively. The LUMHS vice-chancellor held the post until Mr Bhatti was appointed by the chief minister in May 2026 for three years.

Clause (a) of the Act says the director finance “shall act as drawing and disbursing officer”, while clause (b) says “he shall be Chief Finance and Accounts Officer and answerable to the Board”.

“DDO powers are exercised by the head of department, or approval is sought from finance department if DDO power is to be transferred to anyone. In case of a new entity, such approval is a necessity,” explained a finance official in Karachi.

After the separation, the health department first authorised the director finance to exercise DDO powers for the “smooth running of both cost centres of LUH Hyderabad and Jamshoro through their respective medical superintendents”.

In a letter of Aug 31 to the MS of LUH Jamshoro, the department said “a separate post of Director Finance LUH Jamshoro” would appropriately be required and that, until the finance department approved a new post under the Act, an interim arrangement was needed for uninterrupted administrative functioning of the hospital.

It said that, in view of the MS’s recommendation, DDO power had been delegated to a senior medical officer of LUH Jamshoro, Dr Niaz Hussain Babbar. However, the letter does not mention that the finance department’s prior approval was sought for the transfer, even though the director finance had been appointed for both LUH Hyderabad and LUH Jamshoro under the Act.

The letter was copied to the finance department, but it did not explain what warranted the transfer of financial powers from the director finance, appointed under the Act by the Sindh chief minister, to a senior doctor.

Health Secretary Tahir Sangi was contacted by Dawn for comment but did not respond.

“Health department has transferred DDO power on its own. Now, when bills are submitted for monetary transactions to concerned district accounts office (DAO) by LUH, that office can approach the finance department to know whether it has given its nod to the administrative department for such transfer of authority,” said a finance official in Karachi.

Dr Babbar told Dawn that the MS, Dr Bullo, did not want to exercise DDO powers and had therefore recommended delegating them to him. Asked whether the finance department had approved, he said the health department must have sought its approval before transferring DDO powers to him.

Dr Khan Mohammad Bullo, in response to a query by Dawn, clarified that he had not named any official for the delegation of DDO powers.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2026