Adressing concerns: K-P govt spent Rs180.3m in the last two fiscal years
Assembly raises questions regarding distribution of Rs1.6bn relief package
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly in session. PHOTO: AFP
PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government spent Rs180.3 million in the last two years from the provincial kitty on what it calls “honoraria” for employees of various departments. These included finance, establishment, administration, planning and development, Governor’s Secretariat, Governor House, Chief Minister Secretariat, provincial ministers and the provincial assembly.
This information was provided by the finance department to the Assembly Secretariat and was revealed during the question and answer session in the house on Friday. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Mansehra lawmaker Saleh Muhammad Khan, wishing to include all departments in honoraria payments, asked, “When all departments and their employees work inside the boundary of the same civil secretariat, why are some provided with honoraria while others are ignored?”
Saleh’s question turned controversial when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Battagram lawmaker Shah Hussain mocked honoraria being paid to employees of the Governor House, CM House and provincial ministers.
Hussain said honoraria were paid to them to recognise their extra efforts during budget preparation. “It is ironic how the Governor House, CM Secretariat and provincial ministers have been given honoraria. What did they do in the budget making process?” he asked Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said.
Said called Hussain’s question “irrelevant as it was supplementary” and said people should pray that K-P receives adequate resources to give honoraria to each and every department’s employees.
The speaker adjourned the session after tea break, leaving the agenda of the day unfinished since the quorum was incomplete after the break.
Questioning disbursement
Earlier, the house also referred a question regarding the government’s Rs1.6 billion relief package for internally displaced persons (IDP) of North Waziristan to the assembly’s committee concerned.
JUI-F Hangu lawmaker Mufti Syed Janan sought details of the relief package and its contained items. He asked for the names and addresses of affected people who had received relief items. Janan was not pleased with the lack of answers from the K-P Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement department and requested the question be referred to the relevant standing committee of the house for a detailed discussion and report. His request was approved.
Deputy Speaker elections
The speaker of the house, Asad Qaiser, announced that nomination papers for deputy speaker elections will be submitted on December 21 while elections will be held on December 22.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2015.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government spent Rs180.3 million in the last two years from the provincial kitty on what it calls “honoraria” for employees of various departments. These included finance, establishment, administration, planning and development, Governor’s Secretariat, Governor House, Chief Minister Secretariat, provincial ministers and the provincial assembly.
This information was provided by the finance department to the Assembly Secretariat and was revealed during the question and answer session in the house on Friday. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Mansehra lawmaker Saleh Muhammad Khan, wishing to include all departments in honoraria payments, asked, “When all departments and their employees work inside the boundary of the same civil secretariat, why are some provided with honoraria while others are ignored?”
Saleh’s question turned controversial when Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl Battagram lawmaker Shah Hussain mocked honoraria being paid to employees of the Governor House, CM House and provincial ministers.
Hussain said honoraria were paid to them to recognise their extra efforts during budget preparation. “It is ironic how the Governor House, CM Secretariat and provincial ministers have been given honoraria. What did they do in the budget making process?” he asked Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said.
Said called Hussain’s question “irrelevant as it was supplementary” and said people should pray that K-P receives adequate resources to give honoraria to each and every department’s employees.
The speaker adjourned the session after tea break, leaving the agenda of the day unfinished since the quorum was incomplete after the break.
Questioning disbursement
Earlier, the house also referred a question regarding the government’s Rs1.6 billion relief package for internally displaced persons (IDP) of North Waziristan to the assembly’s committee concerned.
JUI-F Hangu lawmaker Mufti Syed Janan sought details of the relief package and its contained items. He asked for the names and addresses of affected people who had received relief items. Janan was not pleased with the lack of answers from the K-P Relief, Rehabilitation and Settlement department and requested the question be referred to the relevant standing committee of the house for a detailed discussion and report. His request was approved.
Deputy Speaker elections
The speaker of the house, Asad Qaiser, announced that nomination papers for deputy speaker elections will be submitted on December 21 while elections will be held on December 22.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 19th, 2015.