DMOs drawing double than ACs in all

Punjab districts
June 03, 2015

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LAHOREAsthePunjabgovernmenthasfixedRs40,000asincentiveforDistrictMonitoring
Officerspostedinalldistrictstoscrutinisesocialsectorreforms,variousofficersincludingAssistant
Commissionersworkinginthesamegradehaveurgedthegovernmenttogivethemincentives.The
officialswhiletalkingtoTheNationsaidthataftertheapprovalofhandsomeallowanceforDMOs,
majorityoftheofficershasstrivedfortheslotofDMOsratherthanworkingasrevenueofficersoron
otherhecticseats.AnAssistantCommissionerconditioninganonymitysaidthereisaflipsideto
thatcoin.Imagineanofficerbeingplacedintoemergencysituationswhereabuseorviolenceis
facingyou,itfallstoyouasanadministratortodealwiththeaftermathandyouregettingpaid
peanuts.Letalonedealingwiththerevenuemattersandtargets,therearematterslikelawand
orderhandlingwhilecampaignagainstencroachmentsandallsuchothermattersfallintheambitof
theACs.Politicalpressure,anotherstressfulissuethatloomsoveralmostallACswasanaddition,
headded.IfthegovernmentfailedtogiveallowancesfortheACsandotherfieldofficers,itwould
behardforthemtodeliverasperexpectations,heheld.Hesaidthatnoofficerwouldprefertobe
anACratherhewouldprefertobeaDMOwithhugedifferenceofsalary.Atpresent,anAC
workinginBP17drawsaboutRs45,000butaDMOgetsRs95,000inthesamegrade,hesaidand
questionedwhynottovieforthemorelucrativeandlessstressfuloffices.Whencontacted,asenior
S&GADofficerconfirmedthatagoodnumberofACshavebeenapproachingtheofficeshowing
inclinationtowardsDMOshiprathertheircurrentpostings.Toaquerythatthegovernmentwould
increaseallowancesforthefieldformationofficers,hesaidsuchsuggestionwasnotonthetable
yet.Heconfirmedtherewasseriouspoliticalpressureonthegovernmentregardingpostingoffield
officers.TalkingaboutDMOsresponsibilities,hesaidthoughtheyhavetoperformintheeducation
andhealthsectorreformsbuttheyarecomfortableandhavetofaceleasthardshipslikepolitical
pressure.Whatmanyoftheofficerswouldexciteistheopportunitytoactuallyshowperformance
ratherthanjustthrowmissilesateachother,hesaid.ADMOwhoworksinaremotedistrictsaidthat
thejobofamonitoringofficerwasashecticasthatofanyothercivilorpoliceofficer.Hesaidhe
hadtovisitfarfetchedvillages,schoolsandhospitalstoensureattendance,andenrolmentin
schoolsbesideshandlingotherissuesoftheteacherscommunity.Hesaidthattheyhadto
respondtothedistrictandprovincialbureaucracyonsocialsectorreforms.Theperformanceofthe
officeafterapprovalofallowanceswasimproved,heclaimed.Heopinedthatotherfieldformation
officersincludingACsshouldalsobegivenallowancessothattheirofficescoulddelivermoreto
resolvepublicissues.Itisrelevanttomentionthatearlier,thePunjabEducationSectorReform
Programmeofficersin2004haddrawnRs15,000thatwasincreasedlateruptoRs20,000.PESRP
engagedtheDistrictManagementGroup(DMG),exPSS,exPCSandPMSOfficersonheavy
allowancesinadditiontosalaries,luxuriousconveyanceandpowersintheentiredistrict.Later,the
allowancewaswithdrawnasthesponsoringagenciesincludingtheWorldBankandADBrefusedto
financethereformsprogrammeformanyreasons.ThetendencytobepostedastheDMOwas
shunnedandofficerswereleastinterestedtobepostedasDMOs.TheDMOswereappointedby
ChaudhryPervaizElahiin2004afterthegovernmentscommitmenttodevolvepowerstothegrass
rootlevelbytheNationalReconstructionBureau.Moreover,thepurposewastorestructurethe
bureaucraticsetupandcreatenewseatsafterabolishingdistrictmagistracy.Besidesfunds,luxury
vehicleswerealsoofferedtotheDMOswhoweretoensuretheguidelinesandinternalmonitoring
throughtheirteamofMonitoringandEvaluationAssistants(MEAs).Thepurposeofsuch
appointmentswastodevelopequitywithintheschool,increasingstudentsenrolment,controlling
dropout,increasingteacherstudentratio,reducingteacherabsenteesandmonitoringofthe
schools.ASchoolsDepartmentofficerdisclosedthatthemonitoringhadbeeninverselyaffected.It
wasdecidedthattheDMOswouldreporttoasteeringcommitteeformedtomonitorreformsandthe
ChiefMinisterwouldhimselfsupervisetheactivities.TheSecretariesconcerned,asmembersofthe
committee,hadtoregularlycollectreportstomonitortheprogressofprojectsinvariousdistricts.
ThecommitteesandtheDMOscouldnotensuretransparentandspeedycompletionofpublic
welfarereformprojects.Thusthedonoragencieshadtostopfundingtheofficerintimatedthatled
towithdrawalofallowances.ChiefMinisterShahbazSharifsgovernmentintendedtospend
generouslyonEducationSectorReformsithasdoubledtheallowancefortheDMOsshowingan
indicationtowardschange,theofficeremarked.

This news was published in The Nation newspaper. Read complete newspaper of 03-Jun-2015 here.
(http://nation.com.pk/E-Paper/lahore/2015-06-03/page-1)