Jumbo cabinet costs taxpayers dearly

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent decision of stuffing as many special assistants as he can into an already big fat federal cabinet has not only drawn widespread condemnation but also led experts to say that it is an “insensitive” move which has cost the taxpayers large sums of money amid an ongoing economic crunch.

Since coming to power in April last year, the PM has been calling for austerity but the frequent expansion of the cabinet by inducting more people as special assistants to the PM without adopting a clear criteria and process has raised several eyebrows.

Former senator and lawyer Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar and ex-minister of state and Board of Investment of Pakistan (BoI) chairman Haroon Sharif, among others, lashed out at the PML-N led ruling alliance for being disconnected with the masses, calling for cutting the cabinet’s size amid the worst financial crisis.

“The government has shown real insensitivity by appointing several more SAPM’s at a time when the country is going through one of the worst financial crises in its history,” the outspoken ex-senator said. “The common man is not left with any fiscal space to go on with his daily life with dignity.”

While reacting to the coalition government’s federal cabinet swelling to 85 members, Khokhar said that it showed that “the ruling elites are not only tone deaf but disconnected from the masses” to the extent that they had no idea about the choices people were being forced to make regarding meeting kitchen expenses as well as paying their bills, rents and children’s school fees.

To the government ministers’ claim that the new appointments won’t burden the national kitty, Khokhar said that the government might harp on about the new appointees being no burden on the exchequer but at the end of the day they would be given offices and the paraphernalia that comes with it. “This posturing is just an eyewash,” he said.

On the jumbo cabinet, the former BoI chairman said that “perks, protocols and privileges of officials cost huge sums to the taxpayer” and the “federal government needs to cut its size to half if not more.”

While the PM was allowed to take four advisers, the ex-state minister explained, rules to hire SAPMs were open-ended. “When an SAPM gets the status of state minister, he or she is entitled to all perks and privileges like house or house allowance, car, fuel, servants etc. They also get an office and staff,” he said. “So, even if the salary is not drawn, these posts cost the government heavily.”

In addition, Sharif pointed out, the SAPMs sat in cabinet meetings and could influence decisions of contracts and jobs etc.

“What is needed is to have a clear criteria and process to appoint an SAPM,” he said. “The number should not be more than 10 at maximum.”

Former human rights minister Dr Shireen Mazari seconded Khokhar and Sharif, saying: “It costs a lot for the SAPMs to set up their offices, staff, cars etc even if they are working pro bono.”

Currently, the federal cabinet consists of 34 federal ministers, seven ministers of state, four advisers and 40 SAPMs. According to Article 92 of the Constitution, the number of ministers and ministers of state in the federal cabinet should not exceed 11 per cent of the total membership of parliament.

Since parliament comprises two houses — the National Assembly comprising 342 members and the Senate consisting of 104 members or a combined strength of 446 — the 11 per cent comes to 49, so the total cabinet size should not exceed this number.

Though the interior minister recently said that the cabinet size was within constitutional limits and the additions were made only to praise the new SAPMs, political experts were of the view that anything less than the constitutional limit was legal but not necessarily the best in these times of bad economy.

Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency President Ahmed Bilal Mehboob said, “Appointing so many special assistants runs counter to the basic good governance principles.

“The Constitution limits the number of ministers, ministers of state and advisers. Appointing so many SAPMs is a way to go around the constitutional bar on the maximum number of ministers, ministers of state and advisers.”

It was time, Mehboob said, that the number of SAPMs be also limited to five. “Even if no salary and perks are paid to the SAPM, the protocol and office infrastructure also costs.”

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb didn’t reply to the text message till the filing of the story.