KARACHI: Sindh Local Government Minister Sharjeel Memon has terminated the services of 1,841 ghost employees in the education department of the Karachi Municipal Corporation (KMC).

The minister also suspended 37 town municipal officers and town officers for failing to deposit six-month details of accounts of their respective towns.

Mr Memon told Dawn that with the sacking of a large number of ghost employees, who were in different grades from grade-1 to 17, the KMC would save Rs600 million per year.

In the second phase, he said, the ghost employees from other departments of the KMC, district municipal corporations and Karachi Water & Sewerage Board would be sacked and their lists were being prepared.

In response to a question, he said that so far 56,000 employees had opened their accounts with the Sindh Bank in accordance with the new biometric system, as after July 1 no employee of the LG institution could draw his salary from any other bank.

The minister said that the employees who failed to get their accounts opened with the Sindh Bank would be sacked within a week or so.

The 1,841 ghost employees were enrolled in the KMC`s education department in different grades and despite repeated warning they didnotreportfor dutyforlong.

Mr Memon also directed the KMC administrator to submit a report within 15 days about the recruitments of the ghost employees and about those officers who appointed them so that cases could be institute d against them with the anti-corruption establishment.

Most of the sacked employees were appointed as primary schoolteachers. They were getting salary regularly without performing their duty and finally the government decided to terminate their services.

Referring to the termination of 37 TMOs,the minister said that they did not comply with his orders regarding depositing the details of six-month accounts of their respective towns.

Mr Memon said that he suspended the TMOs under the Removal From Service Ordinance, 2000 with the warning that they would be sacked if failed to deposit the details of the accounts.

Earlier, he said, these officers were issued show-cause notices on June 22 and on June 27 for providing the accounts details but they failed to do so. They did not submit the details and finally he had suspended them.

The suspended TMOs are: Amir Ali Bhutto (admn branch), Faisal Hasan Daheri (admn branch), Abdul Rasool Khoso (Sakrand), Syed Muhammad Ali Shah (admn branch), Mian Imran Andhair (Sualehput), Khalid Khan Kharoosh and Waqar Ahmed (Obaro), Syed Javed Hasan Shah (Pano Agil), Agha Khaliq Ahmed Khan Durrani and Syed Ahsan Ali Shah (Sohbo Dero), Agha Amjad Ali Pathan (Ghari Khero), Manzoor Hussain Samejo, Gada Hussain Zardari and Shafgat (Jhaddo), Baghan Khan Nandwani (Tangwani), Liaquat Ali Bhatti and Abid Ali Khoso (Manjhand), Amar Lal Akarani and Ali Ahmed Magsi (Hala), Iqtedar Ali Jafri and Mehboob Ali Bariri (Shaheed Benaziabad), Abdul Hameed Shaikh (Diplo), Majid Anwar Sehar and Muhammad Ibrahim Umrani (Tando Adam), Waheed Panhiyar and Ejaz Ahmed Mallah (Mero Khan), Anisur Rehman Sayal (DMC-Korangi), Zahoor Ahmed Lakhan (Naushero Feroz), Syed Ejaz Ali Shah (Malir), Ayaz Hameedullah Baloch (Malir), Alamghir Junejo (Sanjharo), Mehtab Ali Khawaja (Samaro), Fayyaz Ali Shah and Syed Ali Haider Shah, Syed Ali Mughari, Zainul Abideen Malik (Kunri) and Azizur Rehman Tunio.

The minister also declared that the government would not tolerate corruption and ghost employees in the local government department and every corrupt officer or employee would be taken to task.