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COST OF GOVT INDECISION

500 IPH staff drawing salary without work

NAIMUL HAQ
About 500 staff of the country's lone Institute of Public Health (IPH), most of them experts and laboratory support staff, are without any work for years in the absence of a government decision on utilising their services.
They are drawing their salaries, allowances and other benefits. A section of them are also taking overtime bills, travel allowances and some other facilities against fake bills, sources said.
Seven out of 10 biological labo-
ratories and plants of the IPH, with a total workforce of 754, have been shut down over the years leaving around 500 staff with no work. The latest closure took place in June 2003.
The IPH staff include experts like bacteriologists, microbiologists and chemists and laboratory attendants, technicians, sample takers, veterinarians, husbandry officers and a host of other categories of employees.
Many of the public hospitals and laboratories badly need these experts, sources pointed out.
The plants and laboratories that
have been closed are Microbiology (Public Health) Laboratory, Biological Production Laboratory, Anti-Sera Laboratory, Tetanus Toxoid Production Plant, Pasteur-cum-Vaccine Institute, Dry Vaccine Laboratory and Vaccine Laboratory.
Moreover, establishment section of the IPH has 141 staff with most of them having nothing to do as the plants and laboratories excepting three no longer operate.
The three still in operation are Drug Testing Laboratory, AntiRabies Vaccine (ARV) Plant and
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Intravenous (IV) Fluid Plant with a total of around 220 staff.
The ARV plant may also be closed down soon as the technology used in making the vaccine is now considered obsolete and the World Health Organisation does not recommend using it.
"Majority of the staff visit the IPH only once or twice a month just to draw their salaries and allowances," one source at the IPH said seeking anonymity.
The government spends about Tk 5.45 crore on salary, house rent and other allowances and facilities of the IPH staff annually. Besides, about Tk 9.4 crore is spent a year on various other heads.
Sources pointed out that many of the expenditures are made against fake heads. Citing an example, he said animal food and care continues to be a head of expenditure although plants using animals like sheep and horses stopped operation long ago.
"When plants remain shut for years, staff working overtime and realising payment for it is certainly
questionable," one source said.
Frustrated over years of no work, one of the bacteriologists said, "I come here (IPH) every day only to gossip."
Another expert said, "Since my joining IPH five years ago, I never had to apply my expertise as the plant I worked for operated only on trial and error basis. It never went into production."
Sources in the health ministry said most of the IPH vaccine plants operated as projects for limited periods of time under WHO technical assistance. When the projects expired, employment of their officials and staff became uncertain. A government decision later placed them under the revenue budget.
When contacted, a top official of the health ministry said they are reviewing restructuring the organogram of the IPH so that it can work effectively but it will take at least four to six months.
"We are also considering posting some of the IPH experts elsewhere," he said.