ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government is reportedly violating international obligations under the UN Convention against Corruption signed by Pakistan in 2005 in promotions of bureaucrats.
Sources said that the government is bound to promote civil servants on the basis of five criteria, namely, efficiency, transparency, merit, equity and aptitude under article 7 of the UN Convention.
However in Pakistan, efficiency of a civil servant is gleaned through his performance evaluation reports which are most of the time based on love-hate relationships between the seniors and subordinates and do not reflect the reality.
In addition, the transparency and equity in promotions get fatally wounded when CSB promotes an officer having low scores in PERs and trainings by awarding to him more marks from a stock of 30 marks placed at CSB’s discretion and denies promotion to another officer having higher PER and training scores by giving him less marks from their stock of 30 marks placed in their hands.
In addition, Pakistan’s domestic legal framework for promotions in the form of section 9 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973 clearly founds elevations in civil service on merit and also provides in rule 8-A of the Civil Servants (appointment, promotion and transfer) Rules 1973 three tools including prescribed length of service in the present grade, promotion related training as well as department examination to measure the merit for promotion.
Sources said that the merit measuring tools of departmental examination and trainings clearly provided in rule 8-A for a promotion to grade 22 are openly violated every time the PM chairs the high powered boards to decide the civil servants’ promotions to grade 22 and the merit measuring tool of departmental examination is openly violated every time the chairman FPSC chairs CSB to decide civil servants’ promotions to grade 20, 21.
A blatant violation of the existing domestic as well as Pakistan’s internationally agreed upon legal framework for promotions in civil service have played a decisive role in breeding in the civil servants their self centered tendencies and their hopelessness about career advancement without money and power.
Sources said that in the civil service departments like FBR as well as district administrations which offer huge corruption opportunities even to the beginners as the new entrants in service set their gaze on and begin to amass financial resources which they believe are the ultimate tools for their elevation in civil service.
In this run after money from the outset of their civil service career, focus on the work efficiency, quality and productivity gets sacrificed at the altar of lust for money thus bringing to the civil service a crowd of civil servants always busy accumulating the armaments to fight a battle for their own elevations in their careers instead of working for the people for whose service they had been recruited in the first place.
Sources said that the Prime Minister may chair the meeting of the high powered selection board during this week to promote grade 21 officers to grade 22.
Sources said that the merit in civil service promotions has been thrown away by placing 30 marks at the CSB’s discretion for promotions to grade 20 and 21 and by laying down a few vague criteria in 2010 rules in violation of the UN Convention for promotion to grade 22.
The scribe asked Secretary Establishment Inamullah Khan for his comments on this matter but no reply was received till filing of story.
