Govt decides to trim cabinet size

Reports of cabinet’s dissolution denied; law minister calls move ‘rightsizing’.

ISLAMABAD:

A day after Pakistan Peoples Party’s core committee meeting, the government announced it would cut the size of the federal cabinet – a decision that has to be taken by June this year to implement the 18th Amendment.

Law Minister Babar Awan announced that the government has decided on “rightsizing” the cabinet to save expenditures. The decision was confirmed by both the Prime Minister  House and the President House, but reports of a cabinet dissolution were denied.

The number of ministries to be devolved is yet to be determined and which ministers will be shown the door.

Under the 18th amendment, the concurrent list was abolished and a number to subjects shifted to the provinces. The number of cabinet members has been fixed to 11 per cent of the total 442-member strength of parliament. A committee is already working for the implementation of the amendment.

The government has been under pressure to curtail government expenditures and plug corruption in order to save the already devastated economy from further deterioration. The main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, has been pressing the government to implement a reform agenda.

During the core committee meeting on Friday, members of the ruling PPP – most of whom are considered to be close associates of President Asif Ali Zardari  – discussed ways to handle growing pressure from political parties and the general public.

“President Zardari said we have to do something to come out of this pressure. it was decided that if any drastic decision is taken, it might have serious backlash within the party as those shown the door can react. Hence, it was decided that a step should be taken in line with the 18th amendment, so that nobody can raise objections,” a participant of the meeting told The Express Tribune.

The government plans to devolve 10 ministries by February this year, while around another eight will be devolved by June. Some of the ministries will be handed over to the provinces, while others will be merged. As a first step, the government is likely to slash the ministers of state – portfolios that have no significant powers under the rules of business, but a tag used to get perks and privileges as political bribe.

Meanwhile, spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar said that the core committee meeting decided to appoint a committee, comprising Minister for Water and Power Raja Pervaz Ashraf, Minister for Labour and Manpower and Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah, and Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, adviser to the PM, to resolve the KESC workers’ issue expeditiously.

The meeting reiterated the commitment of the party to stand by the working classes. It recalled that the in line with this commitment, the government had recently reinstated employees sacked in the past.

The spokesperson added that Interior Minister Senator Rehman Malik gave a detailed briefing on the law and order situation and the recent spate of targeted killings in Karachi. The minister explained various steps taken so far to restore normalcy in the city.

The meeting also decided that the expenses on the building of the Benazir Bhutto memorial in Islamabad will be borne by the party and public funds will not be used.  The president informed his party members meeting about his recent foreign visits and his talks with President Obama and other leaders. The president said appropriate steps should be taken to benefit from the offer made by the Bill Gates Foundation to provide free immunization services to people against various diseases, particularly polio.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh said that the government has slashed the Public Sector Development Programme by Rs100 billion from the budgeted Rs280 billion and it will be reduced in coming days.

Shaikh was talking to the business community at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry on Saturday.  He reiterated that the reformed general sales tax will document the economy and will also reduce inflation. Shaikh said that it is necessary to document the economy, otherwise “we cannot think of sustainable progress, as we do not have enough resources to meet our burgeoning expenses.  We also need to think about our rising security demands and the government needs to cater to this as a priority.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd,  2011.