From Jude Dangwam, Jos
The Plateau State Head of Civil Service, Mrs Rauta Dakok, has disclosed that the State Civil Service has kick-started the physical verification of all state civil servants as part of efforts by the new administration to establish the true position of the wage bill for civil servants in the State.
She said the government has some reservations about the wage bill for salaries of civil servants hence the need for a physical verification exercise as part of the condition reached between the government and Labour leaders.
Mrs Dakok stated this in an exclusive interview with Daily Sun Newspaper on Tuesday in her Office at the Joseph Gomwalk State Secretariat in Jos the Plateau State Capital further maintained that the strike action will soon be called off by the union leaders.
She said 38 screening teams were constituted with Labour members inclusive to carry out the verification exercise for Civil Servants and pensioners who often collect monthly pensions from the state government to enable them to have access to their March salaries.
The Head of Service explained that the physical verification is made seamless for workers who were already on strike not to feel the impact of the increase in the price of petrol too much which has affected the transportation sector in recent times across the country.
“We met with Labour severally and we came to agree that yes, before the March salaries are paid there has to be physical verification of the civil servants.
“Because the new government have some reservations pertaining to the salary wage bill. And so, they want to investigate and see what is the actual wage bill for the civil servants in Plateau State.
“In relation to the screening exercise that we have started doing it today, to make the exercise seamless not to suffer people. We have constituted about 38 teams and then distributed them to various venues, now Ministries Departments and Agencies are been put in groups and then attached to each team that will screen them.”
She said the government is conscious of those in rural areas and has ensured three Zonal Centres are operational for the physical verification while pensioners are to carry out their screening in the 17 Local Government Council Secretariats due to their health conditions as gathered.
“Going down to the rural areas, we now created Zonal teams for the Southern Zone, Central Zone and Northern Zone. So for example, the Ministry of Education is a large Ministry it has Zonal Inspectorate Offices because we have Secondary schools scattered all over. We don’t expect a Teacher to leave Qua’an Pan LGA to come up to Jos for a screening exercise.
“The team that has gone to Southern Zone, any teacher in Qua’an Pan, Mikang, Shendam they can move to that screening centre and have the physical verification there. The same thing in the Central zone and the northern zone. In each, we have more than two groups to carry out the exercise.
“Now, for Ministries like Agriculture to have Zonal Offices, they can walk to that screening desk for them to be screened, they don’t have to go to Jos. Considering the fact that most of our pensioners are very sick, some are bed reading they can not move from their rural areas to Jos. We have agreed that they should do it in each of the 17 Local Government Secretariats in the State.”
She further said retired Judges were made to converge at the State High Court Complex as screening teams were also stationed there for the exercise with retired permanent Secretaries directed to come to the state Secretariat, “These measures are to ensure that civil servants, pensioners do not suffer due to the increase in fuel price.”
She added, “Wherever you’re staying you mustn’t have to go to your Local Government No! If you’re living in Jos, go to the point where they’re screening people in Jos. If you live in Pankshin, just go to the point in Pankshin so that it will be easy for everybody. We think that this will relieve many of our people from this fuel increment which has also affected the transport sector,” Dakok stated.
The Head of Service maintained that with the commencement of the physical verification to civil servants in the state, she remains optimistic that Labour will direct their members to call off the strike action as they began to see their alerts.
“Now that we have commenced this exercise, the composition of the screening teams includes Labour to carry out this exercise, we hope it will go a long way in helping us in terms of relationship between Labour and government. So, as they received their alert, Labour is going to make a statement to suspend or call off their strike action. And I want to appeal to civil servants to see the need to call off the strike action,” Dakok passionately appeal to workers.