The announcement that the federal cabinet would have on its agenda for today the Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill of 2011 sent bureaucrats into a frenzy late on Tuesday night as many of the bill’s provisions threatened their positions, a private TV channel reported.
The bill, tabled by Faisal Saleh Hayat, Ghaus Bux Mehar and Akram Masih, contains among other provisions the condition that senior bureaucrats (grade 20 and 21) must declare all their domestic and foreign assets before being considered for promotion.
The bill, the first version of which was introduced in February this year, stipulates that bureaucrats must also declare all their assets and sources of income at the end of each year. Additionally, they would also have to provide the names and affiliations of their wives or husbands and other relatives.
One of the bill’s movers said its main purpose was to curtail corruption in the civil bureaucracy. The bill states that the promotion of grade 20 and 21 officers would be decided by the Parliamentary Committee (PC), who would receive nominations for promotion from the prime minister. The PC would then return one name for promotion after thorough vetting of the nominee and their assets.