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Friday March 29, 2024

KP govt to abolish 6,500 outmoded posts

By Riaz Khan Daudzai
October 17, 2018

PESHAWAR: As recommended by the Dr Ishrat Hussain-led Taskforce for Civil Service Reforms, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is going to abolish about 6,500 outmoded positions which will save Rs4 billion, while another 6,584 essential positions would be created during the current financial year 2018-19.

This was informed by provincial Finance Minister Taimoor Saleem Khan Jhagra while addressing the post-budget press conference at the Committee Room of the Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.

Flanked by Secretary Finance Shakeel Qadir Khan, Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Shaukat Yousafzai and other officials, the finance minister said the total volume of budget for the current fiscal year was estimated at Rs648 billion while total expenditure for the fiscal would be pitched at Rs618 billion envisaging a surplus of Rs30 billion.

The proposed expenditures also included development outlay of Rs180 billion with 90 percent allocations for the ongoing projects that is the mainstay of our 100-day agenda, the minister added.

The local governments (LGs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been provided an amount of Rs50 billion and these LG tiers utilised the amount over last four years that is record amount given to local bodies at any province of the country. Strengthening local governments remained the basis of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s manifesto.

Taimoor said the province would receive Rs426 billion from the divisible pool that included Rs360 billion federal taxes and Rs23billion as oil and gas royalty that is 66 percent of its receipts. The province is expected to receive Rs43.3 billion as war subvention on account of expenditures against the war on terror and unrest in the province. He added that the provinces’ own receipts had been estimated at Rs41 billion, 10 percent of the provinces receipts, which include Rs23.82 billion from taxes and Rs17.439 billion from non-tax resources.

The province would also receive Rs71 billion for Foreign Projects Assistance (FPA) showing an 11 percent increase in its receipts while it will generate Rs45 billion (7 percent) from other resources.

The minister said the province would receive Rs29 billion on account of net hydel profit (NHP), which remained capped at Rs6 billion since 1991-92. However, the government would strive to get Rs36 billion arrears on account of NHP.

The province would receive its due share in the National Finance Commission (NFC), he said, adding, the government had projected a surplus of Rs30 billion, however, they would not hold back from surrendering their share if the federal government needed finances.

To a question, the minister said the throw-forward came to Rs469 billion with which about 1366 schemes would be completed and during the current financial year 371 such schemes were going to be completed.

Finance Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan, while responding to queries on the occasion, said as proposed by the Dr Ishrat-led taskforce, the province was going to abolish 6,500 outmoded and old-fashioned positions such torch-bearer (mashal bardar) and water-sprinklers (mashqee). However, another 6,584 jobs would be created during the current fiscal.

The finance secretary said the province would get $3.8 billion till 2023, while during the current financial year, the province would pay Rs9 billion as interest and Rs7 billion as loans repayment.

To a question about the regularisation of the government employees, he said there was a policy for the regularisation of the employees under which 5,500 employees were regularised by the previous government. About collection of tax on services from the Peshawar Garrison Club, he said the non-profit bodies such as officers’ mess and others were not paying tax on services.