PESHAWAR: An impending increase in salaries, allowances and privileges of the members of provincial assembly will put Rs100 million extra burden on the low-income Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The relevant officials have told Dawn that the government is likely to table the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Salaries and Allowances of Members) Act (Amendment) Bill during the current session of the assembly.

The government has approved the house’s special committee’s report recommending increase in the salaries and allowances of the speaker, deputy speaker and MPAs.

The report of the seven-member committee comprising the treasury and opposition members was tabled in the house in March. It had secured unanimous approval.

The report said salaries of the provincial ministers, advisers, special assistants and parliamentary secretaries were insufficient and therefore, the government should increase them.

Justifying the proposed pay raise, the committee observed in the report that majority of the MPAs belonged to the middle class and therefore, they could not survive with the existing salaries due to the skyrocketing inflation.

The financial cost of the existing parliamentary democratic system is on the rose with the provincial government spending a huge amount of money on the salaries, allowances, privileges and other facilities of MPAs though majority of the population is living below the poverty line.

The government depends on federal receipts and foreign donors for social development schemes.

An official in the know said the daily expenditure of an assembly sitting was around Rs800,000, excluding the cost of utility services, security, entertainment and other facilities.

“The proposed raise in salaries, allowances and privileges of lawmakers will cost the government an additional Rs100 million per annum,” he said.

The official said the financial cost of the democratic dispensation was increasing day by day but the performance of the members of the provincial assembly was a letdown.

“The assembly met for 105 days in the first parliamentary year though the actual working days are 72. On average, the assembly members met for two hours in a working day to dispose of parliamentary business,” he said.

He said the scenario was the worst in the parliamentary history of the province.

They said members of the ruling coalition led by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf didn’t take interest in the house business with majority of MPAs, ministers and parliamentary secretaries remaining absent from the session frequently.

On Friday, only 10 lawmakers from the treasury and opposition benches attended the last hour of the proceedings showing the disinterest of MPAs in the parliamentary business.

As happened during the days of last assembly, the sessions of the current house begin one and half hour late daily.

When contacted, Speaker Asad Qaisar justified the proposed pay Raise in KP lawmakers’ pay to cost govt Rs100m raise for MPAs saying performance of the current assembly was exceptional.

He said the prime duty of lawmakers was to legislate and the house had passed 28 bills during the first parliamentary year.

“It will bring about a revolution in the province if the approved laws are fully implemented,” he said.

The speaker said 90 per cent of the sitting MPAs belonged to the middle class, so they deserved a reasonable pay increase in salary.

He even said he had turned bankrupt.

According to the bill, the value of every MPA’s monthly allowances and privileges will go up to Rs204,040 from the current Rs77,600.

The house’s special committee recommended that traveling allowance (by road) should be increased from Rs3 per kilometre to Rs15 per kilometre and that basic salary of an MPA should be increased from Rs12,000 per month to Rs18,000 per month.

In addition, every MPA should be paid Rs10,000 office maintenance allowance, Rs10,000 telephone allowance, Rs10,000 sumptuary allowance, Rs4,800 utility allowance, Rs30,000 house rent, which is currently zero, Rs9,000 medical allowance, Rs15 per kilometre traveling allowance and Rs1,600 session allowance (per day).

In light of the report, basic salary of the speaker will go up from Rs30,500 per month to Rs80,000 per month.

The committee has proposed that the speaker should get Rs200,000 additional traveling allowance, which is currently nil.

Similarly, it is proposed that the basic salary of the deputy speaker should increase to Rs54,000 per month from Rs27,000 per month.

Currently, the deputy speaker is entitled to business class air travel. The committee has recommended Rs150,000 additional travel allowance for him.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2014

FATA Research Centre (FRC) released the report following detailed research, departmental reviews, media reports and policy evaluation. It concluded that the PTI government has managed to reduce corruption, give the public access to government departments and the right to information.

The report was made public during a programme titled ‘Interpreting the Change – Perceptions versus Reality’ at a hotel and revealed that most people were aware that jobs were on sale during the previous government’s tenure. However, it adds, the PTI-led government took necessary measures to eradicate corruption soon after assuming office.

Quoting different sources, including the media, it states that the provincial government has been doing much more for the education and health sectors, while working to reduce poverty levels by 50% in 2015.

“The government has not launched an economic policy as yet, but has introduced a number of financial reforms to increase the province’s own resources and tax to gross domestic product ratio,” the report reads, adding that reforms are still far from any realisation.

The government was lauded for the establishment of the K-P Revenue Authority, as it has been tasked to increase provincial revenues from Rs4.3 billion to Rs10 billion in the next couple of years. Moreover, the health budget has been increased from Rs7.5 billion to Rs19.1 billion in the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

“The most important step by the PTI government was the approval of a uniform education policy,” reads the report. “This is a crucial move to end the ‘education apartheid’ in the province.”

The report also states that PTI has not played a considerable role in public administration, except refraining influence in certain day-to-day matters, which also led to differences between the K-P chief minister and chief secretary.

Opposition members, including Bushra Gohar of Awami National Party expressed dissatisfaction over the report and termed it a ‘misconception’.

“The current government does not know what to do with available funds, because of which 80% of K-P’s budget will go to waste,” Gohar said, adding that the province had been plunged into darkness, while Punjab has taken over its resources.

Qaumi Watan Party’s Mairaj Humayun said they had been expecting a change, but the provincial government has not delivered, due to clashes within the leadership and with the bureaucracy, leading to the formation of the forward bloc.

“PTI had announced that they will not distribute development funds among parliamentarians, but now they are doing it,” said Mairaj, questioning how many standing committees were functional.

PTI MNA Shehryar Afridi said they will always welcome positive criticism, adding that the Sehat ka Insaf programme, Right to Information Act and soon-expected Ehtisab Commission have been widely admired by the whole country.

“In the past, the commissioner, deputy commissioner, district police officer and many other bureaucrats would never allow public in their offices,” said Afridi. “Today that has changed and everyone will see more visible changes in the next five years.”

“The most important thing PTI introduced is the Right to Public Service Act. It has panicked the bureaucracy, however, the government still lacks skilled people,” said Vice Chancellor Islamia College University Professor Qibla Ayaz. He pointed out that the police chief has admitted there is no political interference in his department and added that the University of Peshawar is also free of political influence.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2014.

PTI chief, CM use two copters for same destination

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KPK LG polls: PTI decides to form alliance with PPP

PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – In the most unpredictable move, Paksitan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) has decided to form alliance with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for local bodies (LB) elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the sources said on Sunday.
A consultation session will be held within next two days with PPP leaders at the residence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Chief Minister s adviser Yaseen Khalil, the sources added.
The session is likely to be attended by PPP’s Syed Zahir Shah and other party leaders while Jamaat-e-Islami members will also participate in the negotiations.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s PTI decided to form alliance with opposition party PPP to sweep in LG polls, the sources added.
Earlier on Saturday, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CEC said bio-metric system was significant for fair polls.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government conducted trial voting under new biometric system in an effort to hold free and fair local government elections across the province on Saturday.
The demo polling was arranged at village council Badhai, ward Wadpagga and neighborhood council Sir Buland Pura in Peshawar.
Earlier, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan said he would ensure transparency in upcoming local government elections in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

http://dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/206530-KPK-LG-polls-PTI-decides-to-form-alliance-with-PP#.UsBAKNIW3zz