Government trades transport perks with cash

PM approves policy to monetise transport facilities for grade 20 to 22 officers.

ISLAMABAD:

Green licence-plate bearing vehicles possibly screeched to a halt on Saturday as the government approved a measure  aimed at curbing the misuse of official vehicles and saving billions of rupees.

The prime minister approved the long-overdue ‘compulsory monetisation of transport facility’ policy, for civil servants from grade 20 to 22, under which officials will get a fixed monthly payment for car-related services – fuel, maintenance and driver.

Well-intentioned as the move may be, experts warn it will have limited consequences. Officials are entitled to one car from their ministry, but they unofficially use three to four more from attached departments and projects – a loophole this policy addresses, but will have to struggle to cover.

How much do they get?

Originally slated to be effective July 1, 2011, the Prime Minister’s House announced the approval of the policy on Saturday and said its implementation would result in likely savings of Rs1.4 billion per annum.

Under the new policy, the federal government would pay Rs65,000 to Rs95,000 per month to officials in lieu of services for official cars, said a finance ministry official.

A grade 22 officer would be entitled to receive Rs95,000, including Rs10,000 for a driver. If he chooses to retain the official driver, the government would deduct that amount from his entitlement.

In the original summary, however, the finance ministry had recommended Rs84,000 for a grade 22 official.

A grade 21 officer would receive Rs75,000 and grade 20 officer would get Rs65,000 per month.

The policy has a provision for civil servants to purchase the car in their use, in return for monthly installments. It is not immediately clear, however, how the government would determine the price of used cars, and there are apprehensions that influential officials might walk away with expensive cars at throwaway rates.

Use of drivers, staff cars

Under the new policy, the government has imposed a ban on recruitment of new drivers. Services of regular drivers will be offered to officers on an optional basis, on deduction of Rs10,000 per month from the monetised value, the statement said.

The official handout has also reiterated a ban on purchase of staff cars. While notified earlier in the year by the finance ministry, the blanket ban was relaxed to assess requirements on a case to case basis.

Initially expected to save Rs3 billion per year, five months of relaxation mean the savings would be less than anticipated.

Loopholes?

The official handout reiterated that no officer falling under the policy will be entitled or authorised to use departmental or project vehicles, but a report of the Auditor General of Pakistan said that nearly eight out of every 10 official cars are misused by civil servants.

According to the report, complied on the directives of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the misuse costs Rs5 billion in excess fuel consumption every year, besides wear and tear charges.

At present, about 18,000 cars are being used by bureaucrats working in 296 federal government ministries and departments, of which about 14,000 are being used against government policies, said the report.

Meanwhile, another 190 government departments refused to divulge details of official vehicles in their possession.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2011.