The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) consists of an ‘unusually’ high number of politically appointed employees, causing the ministry’s unskilled workforce to stand close to 70%, Minister of Water Supply and Estate Infrastructure Development Jeevan Thondaman revealed.
In response to a question raised by a Member of the Parliament during the parliamentary session today (Oct. 03), Minister Thondaman further emphasized that the NWSDB experiences a short-staffed situation in many areas and an over-staffed situation in some.
“When I took over the water ministry, I had to deal with an unusually high number of political appointments, and today the water ministry stands close to 70% of the labor force being unskilled. We have short-staffed in many areas and over-staffed in some.”
The Water Supply Minister made these remarks while replying to a question regarding whether the ministry has any capacity to recruit the labourers hired through contractors for NWSDB’s pipe installations so as to make the work more efficient while safeguarding their jobs, as these labourers are now facing severe issues pertaining to their wages.
In response, Minister Thondaman also pointed out that it is not possible to give permanent appointments against this backdrop, citing the current expenditures of the ministry.
“So that is the case. We have tried to do our restructuring but at the same time we cannot give permanent appointments.”
“Before this water tariff hike that has taken place recently, it was the first time in 10 years when a water tariff hike came in”, he said, adding that “with the electricity increase of 66% initially, we have to pay close to Rs. 425 million a month”.
“Apart from that with our loan component, Rs. 2.8 billion was going out every month”, the minister emphasized.
Furthermore, the Water Supply Minister stated that basically, it is not sustainable for the ministry to recruit permanent workers, highlighting what the ministry is trying to do is to enhance the skills of existing unskilled workers.
