Sindh govt reappoints ‘tainted’ LUH director removed by judiciary
HYDERABAD: The Sindh government has reappointed Abdul Sattar Jatoi as Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) director, the post he had to relinquish after losing his cases in the services tribunal and Sindh High Court and also his subsequent appeal in the Supreme Court.
It was only on August 22 this year that the Sindh High Court, Hyderabad circuit, ordered the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman to initiate a probe against the former LUH director.
The Sindh government reposted him on Saturday (Sept 20) although the health department has been seeking abolition of the very position since July 2022 in the wake of relevant orders issued by the Sindh Services Tribunal (SST) and Supreme Court.
Sattar Jatoi had first lost his questionable promotions case in the tribunal on Sept 22, 2020. He had then filed an appeal against the SST decision in the Supreme Court, which upheld the SST orders on
Abdul Sattar Jatoi had lost his cases in Sindh Services Tribunal and SHC as well as appeal in SC
Jan 10, 2022. The SC also questioned his illegal promotions as well as creation / redesignation of the clinical side assistant medical superintendent (AMS) post as ‘director (admin, accounts and development)’. The apex court had heard his appeal on April 20, 2021.
Mr Jatoi’s reappointment came after Health Secretary Rehan Ali Baloch submitted a note dated Sept 20, 2024 for the chief secretary.
According to the note (No. 7549), “Abdul Sattar Jatoi, additional director (dev) BS-19 was promoted as Director (admin, accounts & dev) BS-20 in health department vide notification May 27, 2024 and he was posted as Director (admin, accounts & dev) in development wing of health department vide notification dated May 31, 2024”.
The secretary said that the officer who is presently working as director (admin, accounts & dev) in development wing may be transferred and posted as Director (BS-20) LUH against ‘existing vacancy’.
He was accordingly posted and [he] took over the charge on Saturday in LUH amidst lot of pomp and show.
Interestingly, Mr Jatoi was promoted on a post of same nomenclature within the health department’s development wing which he got created at the level of LUH. However, he remained unsuccessful in defending the creation of the post during the SST and SC proceedings of his cases.
Rehan Baloch quite conveniently concealed the material facts in the Sept 20 ‘note for CS’. The then health secretary had submitted a statement before SHC’s Sukkur bench on Nov 24, 2023 that Services General Administration & Coordination Department (SGA&CD) wrote to the finance department on July 1, 2022 for the ‘abolition of three posts in LUH i.e. Director (admin, accounts & dev) in BS-20; Director (BS-20); and Director (admin, accounts & dev) in BS-19.
The then health secretary had told the Sukkur bench that only one post of Director (admin, accounts & dev) in BS-20 was abolished by Sindh finance department and a reminder dated Nov 1, 2023 was sent to finance secretary to seek abolition of the two above-mentioned posts of BS-19 and BS-20 “in order to implement order of the Sindh Services Tribunal dated Sept 22, 2020.
It was not brought before the notice of Sindh CS that the then CS had issued a letter on July 29, 2022 to the health secretary requiring him to clarify that whether posts of Director (admin, accounts and dev) BS-19 and Director (administration & procurement) are different. If reply is affirmative, read July 29, 2022 CS’s letter, health department may propose some cadre officer against post of director (administration & procurement) BS-19 at the earliest as per provision of Sindh Teaching Hospital (Establishment of Management Board) Act 2020.
The health secretary didn’t disclose that SHC Hyderabad circuit bench on Aug 22, 2024 has ordered Director General of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to initiate a probe and also directed NAB chairman and DG NAB, Karachi, “to initiate an inquiry / investigation against Abdul Sattar Jatoi as petitioner submitted enough proof against him having been involved in corruption and given huge loss to government’s exchequer”.
In the same order, Justice Amjad Ali Sahito had ordered the CS to submit report of inquiry conducted by Mohammad Essa Memon, the then Chief Instructor, Training of Management & Research Wing, SGA&CD as per the Aug 16, 2022 directive. The court directed the CS that “if any inquiry is pending against officer should be completed within a month from date of receipt of order and submit compliance report on or before next date of hearing”. The secretary didn’t mention that the case is fixed for Sept 26.
Abdul Sattar Jatoi was demoted from BS-20 to BS-19 after rejection of his appeal by Supreme Court which upheld the order of Sindh Services Tribunal dated Sept 22, 2020. The tribunal and SC had observed that illegal favours were given to him by re-designating a clinical side post and creating ‘person specific’ post for him in the LUH.
Sindh health department has not posted any “cadre officer” as director (administration & procurement) even after four years of legislation as per the Sindh Teaching Hospital (Establishment of Management Board) Act, 2020.
Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2024