The central bank governor was receiving a minimum Rs4 million in monthly salary, extended perks and round-the-clock security and services of four servants, showed the two-year-old details the government submitted to a Senate panel on Wednesday.
The Ministry of Finance presented the details of the salary and perquisites received by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) governor in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, which is discussing salary packages of the heads of different regulators. However, the details were related to 2019 and 2023, therefore the committee instructed the central bank and the Ministry of Finance to present the fresh salary package of the governor in the next meeting.
According to the official record, the monthly salary of Rs4 million was approved by the SBP board in its meeting held on October 6, 2023 while other terms and conditions were kept the same, as approved by the federal government for the last governor in 2019. The last and the current governors were also entitled to a 10% annual increment and by virtue of that, the governor's salary is already Rs4.4 million, which should be Rs4.84 million from October 2025.
The standing committee had objected to the powers of the boards of SBP and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), which fix salaries of their heads without approval of the government. PML-N Senator Anusha Rahman has already announced that amendments will be proposed in the SBP and SECP laws to withdraw these powers of the boards.
The committee was informed that the last government had fixed the monthly salary of governor Reza Baqir at Rs2.5 million in addition to other benefits in 2019. It was told on Wednesday that Governor Jameel Ahmad's salary had been increased to Rs4 million in October 2023 while other benefits remained unchanged. According to the package, the governor is entitled to a furnished and maintained State Bank house or a house rent allowance with furnishing and maintenance by the bank.
The governor is entitled to two fully maintained chauffeur-driven cars with a petrol ceiling of 600 litres each. He is entitled to an 1800cc locally assembled car with the option to buy at book value. The governor is also entitled to a 1600cc locally assembled car, according to the official record presented to the committee. The governor is entitled to utilities as per actual expenses of electricity, gas, water and fuel for the standby generator to be provided by SBP. He is also entitled to get reimbursed 75% of the total school fees of children.
The governor is entitled to an entertainment allowance for business purposes. The SBP is providing telephone facilities — free landline and mobile phones — as well as internet access. For domestic help, the governor is entitled to the reimbursement of actual salary paid for up to four servants at Rs18,000 per head with periodic reviews by the HR committee, according to the 2019 package.
There is 24 hours security for the governor, as per requirements, including the security guards and the security system. Full medical facilities are also being provided. Travel allowance is given as per SBP rules, which is approved by the board. He is entitled to relocation expenses that include air ticket for self & family and freight. The governor will get post-retirement benefits, as approved by the board.
The governor's salary and perquisites are legally approved by the SBP board and there is nothing illegal about it, said PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz. Section 14A of the SBP Act states that when determining the remuneration of the governor, the average relevant level of remuneration or fees prevalent in the financial sector of Pakistan for comparable levels of appointment shall be taken into account in order to allow for qualified professionals to be recruited and retained.
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