Degrees of senior LWMC officials unverified: auditors

LAHORE: Degrees and experience certificates of several officials of Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) have been found unverified, The News has learnt.

Sources in LWMC revealed that recently Punjab government appointed external auditors to the company to carry out forensic audit who raised objections to the degrees and experience certificates of several senior officers of LWMC.

Sources added that the auditors raised objections to the degrees and experience certificates of senior officers, including former acting managing director and serving General Manager Human Resource Farrukh Butt. The main objection to the degree of Farrukh Butt was that his degree was of a private university and HEC didn’t verify it. Other officers in the list included Senior Manager Zahid Mushtaq, Manager Transfer Station Additional Manager Operations Yasir Gull Khan, Manager Employees Relations Shakeel Wahid Ch, Assistant Manager Operations Saad Talal and a female officer in Operations department. Sources claimed that the auditors objected that experience certificates of the mentioned officers were fake and unverified. Sources maintained that recently a meeting was held with forensic auditors, LWMC senior management, officials from Local Government department, in which it was decided that notices should be served on all those whose documents were not verified. Following the decision, LWMC HR department issued explanation notices to the officers asking them to submit their written reply within a period of seven days. When contacted, General Manager HR, LWMC Farrukh Butt said that notices were issued on the directions of forensic auditors. Defending his case he said he would get his degree verified from HEC soon. Manager Communication Jamil Khawar said that strict departmental action would be taken against all those whose degrees/experience certificates were found fake.

Meanwhile, LWMC Managing Director Khalid Nazir directed officials to conduct Zero-Waste Operation in the city on every Friday till 29th March. This operation will be comprised of making extraordinary arrangements and conducting cleanliness operation in narrow streets, open plots, markets and other important places of the city, this operation will not just stick to manual sweeping but mechanical sweeping and washing will also be the part of the operation. LWMC MD also directed Turk management to ensure all their resources in the field without any delay andzero-tolerance should be observed against indolent employees and against all those who are involved in illegal dumping of waste in the city.

Workers or officers with good performance will be served with appreciation certificates. He said that cleanliness services level would be equal around the city without any discrimination. He directed the enforcement department to evolve a new plan to cater all those violating Solid Waste Management laws in the city.

In continuation to this Communication department of LWMC was told to conduct special awareness activities in all important mosques of the city to disseminate cleanliness messages among public. LWMC MD concluded that without cooperation of public the department could not maintain cleanliness, if citizens pay their attention towards their basic civil and social responsibility regarding proper disposal of solid waste in the provided bins, the city of gardens can again shine.