PESHAWAR: The administration of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) has withheld recruitment process of 500 staffers as the provincial government has refused to provide funds for the purpose, according to sources.

`The non-recruitment of water and sanitation staff would worsen civic issues in the provincial capital despite the fact that elected representatives have already been criticising WSSP on every forum for its poor performance,` sources said.

The WSSP, a government owned civic company, was established in September 2014 and the water and sanitation staff of PeshawarMunicipal Corporation, Peshawar Development Authority and University Town Committee was sent to it on deputation.

Sources said that WSSP had demanded Rs2 billion funds from the provincial government for its administrative expenditures including salaries of the entire staff, fuel, repairs etc and recruitment of the required sanitation staff.

However, the provincial government agreed to provide it with Rs1.078 billion, which is sufficient only for the salaries of 4,700 employees of the civic company but not for the new recruitments.

Sources said that WSSP was in dire need to recruit the required staff because it was unable to clean the city with the help of existing sanitation workers. The WSSP was disposing of only 78 per cent garbage in the city on daily basis, they said. The remaining garbage could be seen in the streets, open plots and on roadsides, they added.

The opposition and treasury members of Peshawar DistrictCouncil had recently demanded of the provincial government to abolish WSSP as it failed to deliver since its establishment. The councillors also staged a walkout from the councilas a protest against the poor performance of WSSP.

`The sanitation staff working in WSSP has already been on decline due to retirement of 10 to 15 employees each month and their force repatriation to the parent department for not performing properly. Withholding of fresh recruitments would further deteriorate the cleanliness condition in the city,` said sources.

They said that after refusal of provincial government to provide the funds, the members of WSSP Board of Directors directed the relevant officials to increase revenue collection in the head of water and conservation charges.

`The total revenue of WSSP is around Rs130 million while the BoD has directed to increase it to Rs700 by improving collection of water and conservation charges, said sources.They said that of 350,000 consumers, only 75,000 were paying water and conservation bills.

The posts of 500 water and sanitation staffers were advertised in December 2015 for which over 25,000 candidates had applied.

The WSSP also spent a big amount on hiring university`s students for arranging forms of the applicants and preparing their lists, sources said.

Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan was not available for comments despite repeated attempts by this scribe to contact him.

WSSP manager of communication and media Taimur Ahmed Shah said that the recruitment process was still in progress. The candidates would be called for written and physical tests after completion of short-listing and scrutiny, he added. It is pertinent to mention that although WSSP is struggling to survive, the provincial government has initiated establishment such civic companies in seven administrative divisions.