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The National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA,) has put the national exchequer in a state of loss by the undue influence in appointing and promoting its employees.
Such actions, which are pursued in an effort to reward specific officers, have sparked concern as to the competency of the authority in respect to compliance with its regulations.
The latest audit report presented by the Auditor General of Pakistan revealed that NADRA’s internal regulations require that such promotions should be given in a fair manner i.e. the employee must satisfy all the laid down standards and requirements. However, the audit revealed some cases in which all of these guidelines were violated directly.
A very specific example of such a practice is seen in NADRA Technologies, where Reema Aftab was hired as Deputy Chief Commercial Officer and got promoted to CCO later. Even though Aftab possessed an MBA degree from Preston University, Islamabad, which the Higher Education Commission (HEC) didn’t validate, he was still enjoying higher grades.
This promotion happened with no performance reports and the position she has been promoted to was not even existent. The monthly salary of the woman was raised to the level of nearly Rs 1. 6 million per month by the time of the audit, even when she lacked the qualifications that would have enabled her to get the job.
The audit report has declared the payments made to her to be around Rs 10 million, for which she is now in trouble. Between July 2022 and June 2023, there would be $92 million of UK aid given to it, claiming it is against the law and calling for further investigations into the issue.
Another example cited in the audit report includes Brigadier (Retd) Abdul Rehman, who was hired as Chief Human Resources Officer on a monthly package of Rs 427,000. The irregularity in Rehman’s appointment was detected by an audit which revealed that Rehman was not qualified for the position he held and his hiring was in direct violation of the policies approved by NADRA.
The process of recruitment was tainted with compromise since the experience aspect was downplayed in the advertisement for the position, while evidence of sufficient post creation or approval was also hard to come by. The audit also identified that the position of Chief Human Resources Officer was duplicated to another existing position and thus there was redundancy.
The annual emoluments of the officer was Rs 20.64 million, which the audit referred to as of course irregular. They have suggested that there should be a probe into the recruitment exercise that was conducted as well as the probability of the officer receiving some undue favor.
The audit also noted several issues regarding the management of a project that was undertaken by NADRA in the erstwhile FATA area. They identified that the salary of 180 employees was paid for seven months without supporting paperwork or any reasonable explanation.
The pay sheets showed a payment of Rs 28.7 million to these employees, while many were missing the details of position, place of posting, date of appointment, identity card numbers, and qualifications.
Slightly over half of these salaries were paid between July 2022 and the early part of January 2023 and the employees were dismissed thereafter. Disbelief was expressed on the part of the auditors about the existence of these employees and they challenged the rationale for their hiring as well as their remunerations.
Based on these recommendations, the audit report has recommended that there should be a thorough probe into other corrupt practices such as non-transparent recruitment, awarding of unjustified salary increments, and contract breaches at NADRA. It has also been suggested that the people who perpetrate these irritations be blamed.
The audit report recommended a thorough investigation into the recruitment and post-service suspension of staff, including a review of appointments and personal records.
Furthermore, the recruitment of Tanveer Abbas as a management associate was questionable, as the position did not exist in the approved organogram. The job advertisement was tailored to suit a specific candidate, with modified requirements, including a graduate qualification and reduced experience. Moreover, Abbas was appointed Director EMD without being recruited for the position, and his salary was increased by 44% within six months, exceeding the stipulated 10% annual increase. This resulted in an irregular payment of Rs 5.7 million to the officer in one year.
Additionally, the audit objected to the promotion of Saifur Rahman Abbasi to the T9 scale without a vacancy or approved staff determination. He received an extraordinary pay increase, posting a monthly salary of Rs 7.7 million, plus allowances, despite already drawing a gross pay of around Rs 1.5 million per month. Abbasi was promoted three times after his appointment, with grade changes, raising concerns about the legitimacy of his career advancement.
