- 135 organisations and departments lack heads
The Establishment Division has reported that 135 heads of state organisations and departments have to be recruited, because they are being run in ad hoc arrangements for the time being, despite Prime Minister Imran Khan having in July given three months for the making of the appointments. Of the 135 organisations, 14 were close to making an appointment, while it was recommended that 14 posts not be filled, because the departments concerned were slated for merger, liquidation, restructuring or privatisation. As for the rest, a common complaint was that it was difficult to attract appropriately qualified individuals from the private sector at the sort of compensation packages available. It would therefore be essential to find ways of giving such packages to qualified individuals
However, that carries its own difficulties. The first is that the packages may be astronomical, but still far from what prevails in the private sector. Which would mean that the main motive for taking up the job would be to add government service to one’s cv. However, having been in government service might not mean more than being liable to enquiries by NAB. Even NAB enquiries are merely just a potential deterrent; what really proves hurtful enough to keep the best people away is the possibility of an ill-prepared news report in the media, that leads to the destruction of a professional reputation built over decades. One of the attractions of working for the government is the honour of the thing. The over-enthusiasm of the government for accountability, has meant that that honour has been transformed into the risk of disgrace at NAB hands. Combined with a poor pay package, the job would not be worth the candle.
However, perhaps worse is the future to which recruitment is to be carried out. If a qualified professional does put in time and energy making the government organisation profitable and efficient, what will happen? The organisation will be privatised, most likely, and the professional will be out of a job. There are so many negatives to government service that it seems no wonder that professionals are staying away.
