KARACHI, Feb 19: Lately several appointments made by the health department have caused resentment among the medical community. Under the controversial appointment orders many junior personnel , mostly in the 18th or 19th grades, have been posted to positions meant for officers in the higher grades.
At least one senior doctor, directly affected by one of these appointments, has gone on a three-month leave to protest against it. In another case, a 20-grade official simply refused to hand over the charge of his health-care centre - the Sindh Government Hospital Korangi No 5 - to a junior officer. This appointment order has since been rescinded.
In yet another case, the doctors of the Sindh Government Qatar Hospital resisted the transference of their hospital's charge to a doctor who had been suspended from his position due to charges of corruption a few years ago. This gentleman had been notified earlier this week as their hospital's medical superintendent, soon after reinstatement following a detailed inquiry.
The medical staff of Qatar hospital took the plea that handing over its charge to the gentleman in question would be detrimental to its future. Similarly, there is a lot of resentment among doctors of grade 20 about the appointment as Karachi's Executive District Officer (EDO) someone who belongs to grade 19.
When contacted, the Chief Secretary of Sindh, Dr Mutawakkil Kazi, admitted on Thursday that some government officials had started exerting "extraneous" pressure for appointments to coveted positions in the various departments. He, however, asserted that his secretariat had taken steps to combat these dubious efforts.
He pointed out that in mid-January a notification had been issued in which it had been mentioned specifically that anyone who brought "extraneous pressure" to bear on senior officials would be dealt with strictly because doing so was deemed to be a violation of rules.
"This notification has been sent to all the additional chief secretaries, Board of Revenue Sindh, Enquiries and Anti-corruption Establishment, the Chief Minister's Inspection, Enquiries and Implementation Team, all the administrative secretaries and all the District Coordination Officers."
Answering a question, Dr Kazi revealed that steps were being taken to streamline the operations of the food department. "After we implement the steps planned, this department will have a new look."
The chief secretary remarked that he planned to streamline also the operations of the health and education departments because they were the two biggest departments.
Speaking to this reporter in Dr Kazi's office, M. Hashim Leghari, who is the Secretary (Services), revealed that the chief secretary planned to revamp the operations of the Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment so that corruption in it could be controlled.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) has come out strongly against the controversial appointments in the health department. Dr Shershah Syed, the PMA's Secretary-General, told this reporter that there was a lot of resentment in the medical community because of some transfers and postings that had been ordered recently.
"There is total anarchy in the health department. Many of the grade 20 officers have been sidelined and some junior doctors, with dubious records, have been asked to take over senior positions."