Political nepotism irks senior bureaucrats

Scores of senior officers have been made officers on special duty (OSD) while a large number of junior officers recommended by political parties have been posted against senior posts.
Talking to Business Recorder on Thursday senior provincial and federal government officers said that the number of OSDs, in different pay scales, was in the vicinity of 100 to 125. They said that Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim had encouraged this 'upheaval' in the civil bureaucracy at the cost of efficiency and hard work of senior officers.
They said that the chief minister was trying to accommodate his coalition partners in the Sindh Cabinet. He has disregarded services rules and overstepped his authority in making transfers and postings. Quoting from a large number of cases where the service rules have been ignored and illegality has been committed they said that they expect justice from the chief minister, as civil servants had nothing to earn during their service tenure but reputation and a little respect as human beings.
"The chief minister has either ignored all good principles or has not bothered to look into the illegality of his actions. This is sad," they added and demanded transfers and postings strictly in accordance with rules.
The OSDs are a waste of money and human resource. "The chief minister says when he talks about corruption and action against the corrupt - the officers feel cowering electric shock travelling down their spinal chords but when he (the chief minister) usurps the rights of senior officers, he does it without being conscience of his intellectual dishonesty."
Giving the exact number of OSDs and junior officers officiating on senior position they asked to avoid mentioning the number, as its consequences would be unpleasant. They said that most of the OSDs having excellent service records were labeled as inefficient, corrupt or non-cooperative before their removal from a post. "There are two kinds of officers who are comfortable with the present political setup: those who are thoroughly corrupt and those who are incompetent and dependent upon the dictations their juniors give them in the form of noting on files. Both look at their ministers/advisers and act on their instructions only."
They said that these officers were 'cooperative' and eager to implement instructions of their ministers irrespective of its legal position. In addition to OSDs there is a large number of retired civil and armed forces officers re-employed on contracts given important positions. They said that when senior officers had been sidelined and retired civil and armed forces officers re-employed has brought frustration to them.