Karachi:
Sindh Assembly Public Accounts Committee President Nisar Khuhro has said that Sindh -Employees’ Social Security Institution (Sessi) has not undergone an audit since its inception.
Sessi informed PAC that its governing body had decided against conducting a revision, but Khuhro questioned whether Sessi is considering himself over the Constitution and refused to undergo a revision. He emphasized that Sessi is not exempt from audits and therefore ordered a revision of the institution.
Khuhro, the president of the Sindh chapter in PPP, expressed these views while approaching a ceremony to mark the 72nd birthday year of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, organized by People’s Labor Bureau at the Sessi Headquarters on Thursday. Provincial Labor Minister Shahid Abdul Salam was also present on the occasion.
Nisar Khuhro pointed out that Sessi’s medical supplies worth RS8 billion are not revised. He questioned the functioning of hospitals under the institution despite the large amount of funds assigned to medication.
He emphasized that a revision of RS8 billion allocation is important to determine the right utilization of funds and the function of the hospital’s equipment.
Sessi informed that out of RS13 billion funds, 70 percent were spent on healthcare, including medicines for hospitals, and 30 percent on Secci’s Directorate.
Khuhro suggested that the work department should focus on ensuring the provision of medicine for workers through Sessi hospitals. He pointed out that out of 670,000 industrial units, only 240,000 are registered with Sessi, while the actual number of workers are about six million.
Khuhro said, non-registration of industrial units and their workers are a great weakness of the welfare institution. He suggested that the work department should take steps to register workers, including those working in stores. He pointed out that minimum wages of RS37,000 for workers in the private sector are not implemented. If minimum wage of RS37,000 is not enforced, how can the implementation of a higher salary of RS42,000 be expected? Therefore, the work department should ensure the implementation of the SINDH government’s minimum wage policy for workers in both public and private sectors.
