21:57
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ISLAMABAD: The Planning and Development Division has become top choice for retired bureaucrats as efforts are underway to accommodate more retiring officers in the multimillion rupees-funded promoting professional excellence project against rules and regulations, according to documents.
Official documents available with The News revealed that a proposal to hire project directors has been put before Mohammad Javed Malick, secretary of the Planning and Development Division. The project will complete its extended one-year term by June 2013, it said.
The high-ups of the Planning Division are making efforts to accommodate those officers who have already been retired or will retire in the next few weeks.
The promoting professional excellence project is among those capacity-building projects on which Dr Nadeem Ul Haq, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, had taken a decision to close down but with a few exceptions some projects managed to get extension of one-year with the blessings of the finance minister during 2012-13.
Total cost of the project was estimated at Rs346.10 million and, so far, spending till June stood at Rs174.5 million, it said. Against the allocation of Rs80 million for the ongoing fiscal year, the releases in the first five months for this project stood at Rs16 million.
During the current fiscal year, Ashfaqueullah Khan was given additional charge of the project but suddenly he was removed.
According to an official order, Capt Muhammad Tariq Hayat (Retd), joint secretary / director general (BS-20) of the Project Wing of Planning and Development Division was assigned the additional charge of the post in addition to his normal duties.
The documents also revealed that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) took a decision in its meeting held on May 26, 2011 that independent project directors could only be appointed with the approval of the Ecnec as this body approved projects worth Rs1 billion or above.
Subsequently, the ministry of finance’s regulation wing in an office memorandum dated April 18, 2012 reads out that independent project directors will be appointed only to the project costing over Rs1,000 million. For the projects costing below this limit, the project directors can be designated on additional charge basis and not as independent project director.
The office memorandum of the Finance Division also revealed that the government officials will not be allowed to apply for the posts carrying market-based salaries through open competition.
It was decided by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission to close capacity-building projects of all ministries / divisions. However, certain projects continue in the ministries / divisions.
Contrary to this decision, the Planning and Development Division prepared a new project of public sector capacity-building at the total cost of around Rs941 million. This project was taken into consideration in the meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) held in June, which decided that the project might be approved, in principle, and the minister of finance may be approached for approval but so far the Planning Division has failed to do so.
Therefore, the project has become a controversial issue between the finance and planning divisions because, as per the rules, the approval of the ministry of finance is a must.
Moreover, launching of the new project for providing manpower to ministries / divisions from the development budget does not fall under the purview of the Planning and Development Division as it did not possess any such powers under the rules of business to perform this function.
In case the Planning and Development Division wants to assume this role, the approval of the Establishment Division and the prime minister would be needed by amending the rules of business of the Planning Division, according to the documents.
When contacted, Mohammad Javed Malick, secretary of the Planning and Development Division, said that he will make appointments purely on merit.
He said favouritism would not be the criteria for any appointment during his remaining tenure as he will retire from the civil service by the first week of January 2013.
Official documents available with The News revealed that a proposal to hire project directors has been put before Mohammad Javed Malick, secretary of the Planning and Development Division. The project will complete its extended one-year term by June 2013, it said.
The high-ups of the Planning Division are making efforts to accommodate those officers who have already been retired or will retire in the next few weeks.
The promoting professional excellence project is among those capacity-building projects on which Dr Nadeem Ul Haq, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, had taken a decision to close down but with a few exceptions some projects managed to get extension of one-year with the blessings of the finance minister during 2012-13.
Total cost of the project was estimated at Rs346.10 million and, so far, spending till June stood at Rs174.5 million, it said. Against the allocation of Rs80 million for the ongoing fiscal year, the releases in the first five months for this project stood at Rs16 million.
During the current fiscal year, Ashfaqueullah Khan was given additional charge of the project but suddenly he was removed.
According to an official order, Capt Muhammad Tariq Hayat (Retd), joint secretary / director general (BS-20) of the Project Wing of Planning and Development Division was assigned the additional charge of the post in addition to his normal duties.
The documents also revealed that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) took a decision in its meeting held on May 26, 2011 that independent project directors could only be appointed with the approval of the Ecnec as this body approved projects worth Rs1 billion or above.
Subsequently, the ministry of finance’s regulation wing in an office memorandum dated April 18, 2012 reads out that independent project directors will be appointed only to the project costing over Rs1,000 million. For the projects costing below this limit, the project directors can be designated on additional charge basis and not as independent project director.
The office memorandum of the Finance Division also revealed that the government officials will not be allowed to apply for the posts carrying market-based salaries through open competition.
It was decided by the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission to close capacity-building projects of all ministries / divisions. However, certain projects continue in the ministries / divisions.
Contrary to this decision, the Planning and Development Division prepared a new project of public sector capacity-building at the total cost of around Rs941 million. This project was taken into consideration in the meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) held in June, which decided that the project might be approved, in principle, and the minister of finance may be approached for approval but so far the Planning Division has failed to do so.
Therefore, the project has become a controversial issue between the finance and planning divisions because, as per the rules, the approval of the ministry of finance is a must.
Moreover, launching of the new project for providing manpower to ministries / divisions from the development budget does not fall under the purview of the Planning and Development Division as it did not possess any such powers under the rules of business to perform this function.
In case the Planning and Development Division wants to assume this role, the approval of the Establishment Division and the prime minister would be needed by amending the rules of business of the Planning Division, according to the documents.
When contacted, Mohammad Javed Malick, secretary of the Planning and Development Division, said that he will make appointments purely on merit.
He said favouritism would not be the criteria for any appointment during his remaining tenure as he will retire from the civil service by the first week of January 2013.
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