Government officials, working in Sindh Secretariat were hit hard when Chief Secretary Sindh, Fazl-ur-Rehman announced to launch "Punctuality Drive" to restrict officials to follow government guidelines.
In a letter issued here Wednesday, Chief Secretary directed that the gates of Sindh Secretariat (all blocks) would be closed at 10:00am daily, and any govt official arriving after this time would not be allowed to enter the secretariat, official sources at B&A office told business recorder on Wednesday. "A notification in this regard was issued to the security officers, deployed at various entry and exit points of all blocks of Sindh Secretariat, directing them to keep a vigil on activities of government officials, they said adding that copies of the notification were distributed to the administrative in-charge of all concerned departments."
They said that Chief Secretary also directed all administrative departments to depute an officer not below BS-17 to observe attendance at departmental level from 9:00am to 10am. "The person who arrives after 10am would not be allowed to enter into the secretariat and marked absent," they said.
To monitor that all government officers are following the directions, Chief Secretary has assigned Section Officers (Budget) and Section Officer (CTC), SGA&CD to check the attendance on all secretariat blocks gates from 9:00am to 10:30am daily, they said adding that Section Officers are also directed to send attendance sheet to Chief Secretary through fax for actions against those found absent.
When this reporter visited all blocks of Sindh Secretariat to note point of views of government officers and workers about this official notification, they said that such notifications did not bring practical changes in working collectively because punctuality is a problem for ministers, advisors, special assistants, MNAs and MPAs who remain safe from such action.
There is no need of such notification because govt servants follow guidelines of ministers and many development works could not be completed because of their engagements, said a government worker at new Sindh Secretariat, adding that if Chief Secretary can ensure availability of concerned authorities at their offices, many development works would be completed before its designated time period.
He said that every government has tried to ensure availability of all officers before 10:00am but it becomes a dream when they violate government orders. He said that now Chief Secretary has launched a drive against government officials, but practically it is not possible because of political involvement in the process.