The Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) demanded immediate right-sizing of the federal cabinet on Wednesday as it will be a burden on the national exchequer. PILDAT argued that the government’s decision to retain federal ministers, ministries of whom had been devolved, was inexplicable.
“Retaining ministers after devolving their portfolios was not only a burden on the national exchequer but was also against the spirit of devolution,” PILDAT said in a press release. The Federal Cabinet, while approving devolution of seven ministries under the 18th Amendment, had decided on Tuesday that ministers of the devolved ministries will remain unchanged and will be given new assignments by the prime minister.
“It was rather strange and questionable that the Prime Minister had decided to retain ministers despite devolving portfolios as paying ministers without any job was a bad practice and evidence of extreme mismanagement of the scarce national resources,” PILDAT deplored according to the press release.
PILDAT remarked that creation of the new ministries, only to adjust certain ministers, was a waste of public funds and was against spirit of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. PILDAT asked the government to devolve ministers and to re-arrange standing committees of the national assembly and the s enate.