Political appointments overburden SSIC

With the over-crowded political appointments by the coalition partner, the Sindh Small Industries Corporation is facing serious financial crunch to pay salaries to the staff. Besides, the corporation’s saving has been reached just Rs 60 million which was some Rs 800 million two years back, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The actual sanctioned strength of the Sindh Small Industries Corporation (SSIC) is around 100, however, the coalition partners continued appointments in the corporation that has now overloaded with the present number of employees at 1,000.
These appointments were made during the past couple of years by MQM’s commerce and industries ministers Mohammad Adil Siddiqui and Rauf Siddiqui as the department remained in control of the MQM for the last eight to nine years, well-placed sources told Pakistan Today.
The industries and commerce department had objected to inducting these political activists into the SSIC, citing the extra financial burden they would cause on the corporation.
However, the MQM ministers, using the position of the SSIC chairman, turned down the objections of the administrative department and appointed these workers by using special powers, sources added.
The politically-appointed workers have never attended their respective offices and still drawing salaries. The SSIC is facing a shortage of funds and its employees were paid late. Its financial crisis is set to worsen in the coming days due to the extra burden of politically-appointed employees.
The SSIC administration has now started selling its properties just to bear the burden of the extra workers. Recently, the corporation sold off five plots located at prime locations in Shershah just for Rs 40.5 million, merely to manage the finances, the sources revealed.
A letter inviting application for the auction, reads: “The Sindh Small Industries Corporation offers five industrial plots, small size each measuring 500 sq yard (approximately) in industrial park on plot No F-53, Hub River Road, SITE area Karachi through open auction for allotments of plots on 99 years for establishment of small industries. These industrial plots were also sold to their favorite persons as the advertisement for the auction was published in newspaper on December 1, 2010, however, the deadline for submitting the bids was December 2, 2010.
Moreover, the sources said among the staff more than 100 workers had never bothered to attend the office while they were drawing heavy salaries on regular basis. Interestingly, the sources claimed that close relatives of the managing director Sindh Industrial and Trading Estate who was appointed on June 20, 2012 as junior clerk was promoted to grade-16 (data processing officer) within a short period of one and a half months. While the officials claim they were promoted on seniority basis however the fact was that the son of influential bureaucrat was promoted under the political pressure.
Moreover, the relatives of secretary industries and commerce Zameer Ahmed Khan namely Ruqiya Farooq and Sana Urooj were also promoted from junior clerks to grade-16 and grade-17 as assistant directors in the same manner. However, more than 100 senior staff who worked for couple of years were ignored in the promotion process and the posts were filled on favoritism basis.
When contacted, SSIC Deputy Managing Director Mushtaq Leghari told Pakistan Today that saving of the corporation had reached Rs 60 million against Rs 800 million two years back. “If the corporation further pays the salary, the financial crisis in the institution would aggravate”.
“Commerce and Industries Minister Rauf Siddiqui has made junior officer Abid Ali Kaimkhani, a grade-18 officer as Managing Director of SSIC. However, there are a number of senior officers of grade 19 including Mushtaq Leghari, Qurban Memon, Tariq Memon and Saeed Pathan”, he disclosed. “The corporation will surely become a white elephant within next six months if the audit is conducted”, he added.