An indication of 100% increase in salaries for bureaucrats on better performance (Photo: File)
Islamabad: Prior to the IMF bailout package, 4 additional salaries were approved for the officers of the Prime Minister’s Office.
A few days before he left for Washington to request a new bailout package from the IMF to avoid default, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb approved four salaries for the officers of the Prime Minister’s Office, a decision that negates the claims of austerity and inflation. It is like rubbing salt in the wounds of the public, who are facing a cumulative 27 percent inflation and multi-fold increase in utility bills.
According to the sources, these officers have been sanctioned for doing extra work.
Sources say that nothing unusual has been done by these officers to make them eligible for any reward.
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Last week, the Prime Minister had said that every cup of tea served in his office is bought with borrowed money, yet he not only approved the proposal to give 4 salaries as a reward but also told his Finance Minister. For approval, the employees of the Prime Minister’s Office are already receiving salaries higher than the prevailing government scale.
According to sources, the finance minister also approved two salaries for the officials of the Prime Minister’s Office serving on the pay scale of 1 to 16, which has increased the frequency of rewards to five in just two months, former prime minister Anwar Haq Kakar. also gave three salaries as reward to the employees of the Prime Minister’s Office, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb approved four salaries as Chairman Economic Coordination Committee.
The Express Tribune asked him for his views on the approval and whether his move would bode well for a government that is seeking a bailout package from the IMF to avoid default. The finance minister did not give any reply till now.
Sources say that the proposal to pay four lump sum salaries came from the Prime Minister’s Office which was approved by Shehbaz Sharif. However, when The Express Tribune contacted the Prime Minister’s Office, the Prime Minister’s Secretary did not respond to a request for comment on the development.
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Finance Minister along with Finance Secretary Imdadullah Bosal is going to leave for Washington to attend the spring meetings of the IMF, he will also make a formal request to the IMF for a new bailout package. F, World Bank, Asian Bank and domestic commercial banks.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a reward program in the form of a 100 percent increase in salaries for top performing bureaucrats.
In the recent meeting of the Federal Cabinet, the Prime Minister said that minimum economic security can be given to government employees. He praised the secretaries who have solid knowledge of their divisions and indicated that the professional competence of all secretaries is not equal and said that high performers will be rewarded appropriately while those who perform poorly will be held accountable for incompetence.
He said that the high performers will be given the same benefits as he gave as the Chief Minister of Punjab in 2008, including 100% salary to the police and law officers. He urged the civil servants to end the red tape and simplify the procedure. Work on, SIFC’s role in this regard is commendable.
The Prime Minister said that due to the heavy emphasis on paper work in the ministries, there is no special scope for non-traditional methods, focus should be on innovative methods and programs based on creative thinking for achieving goals and effective results. He also stressed the need for automation.
Mentioning the national priorities and development vision, the Prime Minister said that the country can be put on the path of sustainable development by taking an active role in all areas of strategic importance, in the next five years IT, power, minerals, defense, export oriented manufacturing, Special focus on trade is required.
He urged all the ministries to set 100-day, annual and five-year period targets and said that the guidelines have been issued to all the ministries.
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