Govt opens backdoor for public hiring

Cabinet limits monetary benefits for bureaucrats to Rs1m annually for board meetings

ISLAMABAD:

The federal government has decided to fill thousands of vacant positions from grade 1 to 16 with prior approval from its austerity committee and has also limited the monetary benefits of top bureaucrats to Rs1 million per annum for attending board meetings.

These paradoxical decisions were taken by the special federal cabinet, which met on June 12th to approve the budget for fiscal year 2024-25, according to government sources. Contrary to an earlier recommendation by the Prime Minister’s Austerity Committee, the federal cabinet decided that the vacant positions from grade 1 to 16 will be filled but with the consent of the Finance Division’s austerity committee.

A response from Information Minister Atta Tarar was awaited at the time of filing this story.

After assuming office, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Jehanzeb Khan. Its members included Secretary Finance, Secretary Cabinet Division, now Secretary Power Rashid Mahmood Langrial, and economists Dr Kaiser Bengali, Dr Farrukh Saleem, and Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar.

In May, The News International reported that the committee had recommended abolishing around 70,000 posts in BS 1-16, which have been vacant for the last few years. However, on June 12th, the federal cabinet decided that recruitment for these vacancies will be made with the prior approval of the Austerity Committee, as constituted by the Finance Division. This condition does not apply to cases where the recruitment process has already been initiated, nor does it apply to the armed forces, civil armed forces, and other law enforcement and security agencies, according to the cabinet’s decision.

At least two members of Dr Jehanzeb Khan’s committee told The Express Tribune that the federal cabinet’s decision was contrary to the committee’s recommendation. One member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the Finance Division’s austerity committee cannot stop the recruitment and that the government has now opened a backdoor to hire more people in the public sector.

The government’s wage and pension bill has already alarmingly ballooned, and filling these vacant positions will further exacerbate the problem. For the new fiscal year, the government has allocated Rs839 billion for running the civil government and another Rs1.04 trillion for paying pensions. Appointments to these low-scale positions are often made under political considerations.

In May, the National Assembly defrosted allowances for employees working from grade 1 to 22. The Parliament House allowance, previously up to 60% of the existing salaries of grade 1 to 22 employees, was set at 100% of the running basic pay for all employees. Similarly, the fuel and electricity subsidy for grade 1 to 22 employees was increased from 35% to 65% of the running basic pay.

To finance this huge spending, the National Assembly budget was increased to Rs7.3 billion for this fiscal year, up by Rs2.3 billion or 46%. The Senate of Pakistan received a record Rs5.2 billion budget, also higher by Rs1.9 billion or 58%.

There has also been a significant increase in the expenses of the President of Pakistan’s office. A record Rs2.2 billion budget was approved for the staff, household, and allowances of the president, which is 62% or Rs880 million higher than the last fiscal year.

However, on June 12th, the federal cabinet decided that bureaucrats’ perks from attending board meetings would be limited to Rs1 million annually, compared to the previous unlimited benefits. Government officers receiving remuneration from board meetings exceeding Rs1 million per financial year will have to deposit the excess in the government treasury, as per the cabinet’s decision.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar proposed limiting board meeting benefits to Rs1 million, in addition to regular salaries. Some bureaucrats currently receive substantial sums for attending meetings of state-owned enterprises. The premier strongly opposed receiving up to $5000 or Rs1.4 million for a single board meeting. At least two government entities, Pak-Arab Refinery Limited (PARCO) and Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL), pay over Rs1 million per board meeting. PARCO offers $5000 per meeting, while PTCL pays around $3,500 per meeting.

The secretaries of finance, petroleum, privatisation, and information technology serve on these boards ex-officio. If the secretary of finance moves to a new role like secretary to the PM or chief secretary Punjab after an upcoming IMF deal approval, the new secretary of finance will take their place on these boards. Fees for these meetings range from Rs100,000 to Rs250,000.

Previously, Dar announced a cap of Rs600,000 annually for government servants on board fees, with any excess to be deposited. However, this decision was never implemented. The cabinet also resolved to rigorously enforce the State-Owned Enterprises (Governance and Operations) Act 2023, ensuring no individual serves as a director on more than five state-owned enterprises, including subsidiaries.