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CBR to get rid of officials who used leverage to get jobs

JAVED MEHMOOD

ISLAMABAD: Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to get rid of intruders who managed to get posting in CBR by using their political leverage in the recent past, it was learnt.

Sources told Business Recorder that the CBR has started the short-listing of those officials, having grade 16-18, who were first sent to surplus pool in the Establishment Division by the previous government from where they were posted in the CBR during the last couple of years.

There are more than 100 unwanted officials in the CBR who may be sent back to the Establishment Division during the coming few days, said sources.

It may be mentioned here that just before Eid-ul-Fitr the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) had already abolished over 50 posts of various grades in two phases, reducing the strength of Members, project directors and secretaries as a part of the long-awaited restructuring of this revenue generating organisation.

The previous government had made a firm commitment with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the right-sizing of the CBR, but it delayed the restructuring process by using lame excuses. A huge amount of Rs 500 million was also allocated for this purpose in the budget, but it remained unutilised.

However, the new military-led government has started restructuring of this corruption-ridden CBR to meet the demand of the donors and to purge the organisation of unwanted officials and to induct the professionals.

Sources hoped that before the arrival of the IMF team, expected in a week or so, the CBR would be restructured drastically and the surplus staff would be despatched to the Establishment Division or their parent departments very soon.