Following the transfer of the Insect Vector Control Division (IVCD) from the Ministry of Health to the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, Minister Khadijah Ameen has assured staff that no jobs will be lost.
Speaking during the Standing Finance Committee on Tuesday, she said discussions had already been held with senior officials, including representatives from the Ministry of Health and the IVCD, and emphasised the Government’s commitment to supporting the division and its staff.
“I want to give the assurance that, following meetings with the Permanent Secretary, the Minister of Health, and other senior officers of the Insect Vector Control Division, we warmly welcome them. We look forward to improving their accommodation, the vehicles, and equipment, and I want to give the assurance that no worker, no employee, daily-paid or monthly-paid, of the Insect Vector Control Division will be terminated. They are all now under the Ministry of Rural Development and Local Government, and we welcome them.”
Meanwhile, Minister Ameen said new measures have been implemented to ensure employees under the National Programme for the Upkeep of Public Spaces (NPUPS) are paid on time.
She said the Ministry has engaged a service provider to implement a digital payroll system, which has already helped to expedite the processing of outstanding salaries and regular wage payments.
“We have engaged a service provider to provide a digital system to process the salaries. For the last couple fortnights, the last few fortnights in the last fiscal that helped us to speed up the processing of the outstanding as well as what was running. So those have been addressed, and with the use of that digital payroll system, I anticipate it will be much easier for the public officers to manage the payments.”