PPP leaders lash out at federal govt over appointment of technocrats in ministries

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party senior leaders Mian Raza Rabbani and Syed Khursheed Shah berated the federal government over the appointment of technocrats in ministries on lucrative packages.

In a statement, Mian Raza Rabbani said, “The corporate elite or so called technocrats are being added to strength the elite class,” adding over a dozen such elites are being appointed on Special Professional Pay Scales (SPPS), including Rs2 million for (SPPS- I), Rs1.5 million for (SPPS-II), Rs1 million for (SPPS-III) and Rs500,000 for (SPPS-IV). The experiment was tried in the past and failed, he said, adding the federal government on the one hand talks about resource constraints and revisiting the NFC, while on the other hand it continues to make the government top heavy. Raza Rabbani asserted that the devolved subjects under the Constitution, 1973, continued to have ministries at the federal level and demanded their devolution to the provinces. In addition, senior PPP leader Syed Khursheed Shah said that appointing technocrats in ministries would not only disrupt the work of the ministries but also increase the burden on the exchequer immensely. He said there are competent and experienced officers in every field and there is a need to appoint the right officer at the right place at the right time. He was of the view that the experiment of deputing experts and professionals would be unsuccessful and it would be a waste of work, time and money. Shah said that the government should give relief to people instead of adopting new ways of rewarding the elite.