Babu's fuel allowances expend exchequer

While the government is unable to invest in health and education, civil servants continue to use taxpayers' money for

LAHORE:

Ironically, where a lack of funds is often cited as a paramount reason behind the deplorable state of the public education and health sectors in the province, the government has no intentions of cutting the policy of providing lavish vehicles and unlimited fuel to Punjab's civil and police bureaucracy.

"We are also government employees who have passed the Public Service Commission exam to get their jobs, but we do not receive any fuel allowances from the government. This discriminatory practice is only reserved for some bureaucrats," complained Asif Tanveer, a Grade 20 officer at the School Education Department.

Confirming the practice, the Motor Transport Officer at the Punjab Civil Secretariat revealed that they allocated a vehicle to government employees whenever they were instructed to do so. "Once a vehicle is allocated, its fuel is automatically credited. It is also true that many officers use two to three vehicles. The officer uses the staff car while the other vehicle is used for family and children."

Disclosing a strange practice, Amjad Ali, a government driver, mentioned that many drivers sold fuel allocated for government vehicles in order to manage their household expenses. "Due to low salaries, drivers often purchase less fuel for the government vehicle but submit a receipt for a higher amount. Fuel station operators also assist in this practice," conceded Amjad.

An officer from the Punjab Finance Department indicated that 80 per cent of the total budget of the police department was spent on salaries and fuel. "Furthermore, 65% of the annual budget for the civil bureaucracy is expended on fuel and salaries," added the official.

According to details obtained by the Express Tribune, over 35,000 vehicles used by the entire bureaucracy consume more than Rs50 million worth of fuel daily excluding the costs of fuel allocated for officers' other visits and inspections.

Salman Abid, public policy advisor and visiting professor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Punjab, was of the opinion that the facilities available to government officers wasted a lot of state resources.

"The allotment of big houses, fancy cars and free petrol, besides other incentives are wasteful. For a country which is suffering from economic turmoil and is almost on a ventilator, the ruling classes are unwilling to give up on their privileges. The bureaucracy keeps promoting its luxury interests hence the non-development expenditures exceed the development expenditures," lamented Abid.

Abid further believed that the crux of the matter lied in the weak nature of the monitoring and accountability system in Pakistan. "There are no regulatory authorities that can check all these matters hence, people's mistrust in the system of governance is increasing. Citizens are angry, restless and detached since they know that the system only serves the privileged classes," added Abid.