Added benefits: Govt presents ordinance to increase salaries, perks

Accountability Commission bill passed unanimously.

PESHAWAR:

An amendment ordinance seeking to increase salaries and other privileges of provincial ministers was presented in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly on Tuesday, but it wasn’t taken well by opposition benches.

Lawmakers’ reservations

The amendment ordinance to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges Act 1975) reads, “Amendment to Section 8 Subsection (3) and (4) for the words forty thousand wherever occurring, the word fifty five thousand shall be substituted.”

Information Minister Shah Farman attempted to introduce the ordinance dated November 19, 2013 in the house, but was much criticised by lawmakers from the opposition.



The proposed raise is not being made in lieu of salaries and is for house rent, said Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak. Khattak said rents have increased over time and even a small house can no longer be rented for Rs40,000.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker from Hangu, Mufti Syed Janan, started speaking at the same time as the CM and demanded that an increase in allowances and salaries should not just be limited to ministers, but salaries of MPAs should be raised as well.

Farman agreed with Janan and proposed a committee be formed to review perks and privileges of lawmakers. This committee will compare incentives of K-P lawmakers with MPAs of the other three provinces.

Speaker Asad Qaiser agreed with the information minister’s suggestion and directed him to constitute a committee.

Territorial bone of  contention

An adjournment motion was moved by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz  lawmaker Abdul Sattar Khan about a territorial dispute with Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B) wherein about 8.5 kilometres of land in Kohistan remains disputed.

Finance Minister Sirajul Haq said a committee comprising lawmakers from Kohistan, himself and the assembly speaker would discuss the issue and formulate a course of action.

Haq also pointed out that K-P suffered losses in the Ghazi Barotha hydropower project in Haripur, while Punjab continues to reap its benefits.

Minister for Revenue Ali Amin Gandapur said the K-P government will not give an inch of K-P’s land to anyone. “The area of Bhasha Dam is a part of K-P and we have presented all records to the boundary commission,” said Gandapur.

Meanwhile, K-P Promotion, Protection and Enforcement of Human Rights Ordinance 2013 was also presented before the house on Tuesday, while the K-P Ehtisab (accountability) Commission Bill 2014 was passed unanimously.

The session was adjourned till Wednesday (today) afternoon.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2014.