Driving down costs: Senior bureaucrats must pay for their cars
‘Compulsory monetization’ is part of austerity measures approved in federal budget.
ISLAMABAD:
In bureaucratic language, the government announced a “Compulsory Monetization of Transport for Civil Servants in BS-20 to BS-22” on Monday.
What this means in practice is that senior civil servants will now have to pay for their own cars.
The new system is part of a change in policy, brought about by austerity measures approved in the federal budget for 2011-12. Misuse of official vehicles has been a high-profile cause for those looking to cut costs.
From January 1, 2012, the officials will have to pay for their petrol, maintenance, repairs, insurance, transfer fees and all duties and taxes on their vehicles, in addition to paying installments.
Civil servants from the BS-20 to BS-22 pay scale will be given the first option to buy the cars they currently use for free. The use of green number plates on these cars will be banned.
Ministries, divisions and departments will maintain a minimum pool of vehicles for operational duties. Cars surplus to needs will be given to the cabinet division’s central pool of cars, and the government will see fit as to their use.
If the civil servants wish to keep their drivers, Rs10,000 will be cut from their salaries every month. No new recruitment of drivers will be made until the drivers rendered surplus are provided with work elsewhere.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.
In bureaucratic language, the government announced a “Compulsory Monetization of Transport for Civil Servants in BS-20 to BS-22” on Monday.
What this means in practice is that senior civil servants will now have to pay for their own cars.
The new system is part of a change in policy, brought about by austerity measures approved in the federal budget for 2011-12. Misuse of official vehicles has been a high-profile cause for those looking to cut costs.
From January 1, 2012, the officials will have to pay for their petrol, maintenance, repairs, insurance, transfer fees and all duties and taxes on their vehicles, in addition to paying installments.
Civil servants from the BS-20 to BS-22 pay scale will be given the first option to buy the cars they currently use for free. The use of green number plates on these cars will be banned.
Ministries, divisions and departments will maintain a minimum pool of vehicles for operational duties. Cars surplus to needs will be given to the cabinet division’s central pool of cars, and the government will see fit as to their use.
If the civil servants wish to keep their drivers, Rs10,000 will be cut from their salaries every month. No new recruitment of drivers will be made until the drivers rendered surplus are provided with work elsewhere.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 13th, 2011.