Sindh: 40% increase in MPAs’ salaries suggested

[Naveed Yaseen]

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly Standing Committee on Law and Parliamentary Affairs, in a meeting presided over by its chairman Syed Bachal Shah, reviewed MPA Sikandar Mandhro’s report consisting of recommendations regarding the 40 percent increase in the salary and allowances of speaker, deputy speaker, ministers and MPAs.

Minister for Education Pir Mazharul Haq, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Ayaz Soomro, Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed, MPAs Shoaib Ibrahim, Kulsoom Chandio, Humera Alwani, Najmuddin Abro, Nusrat Abbasi, Ghulam Mujaddad and Assembly Secretary Hadi Bux Buririo attended the meeting held at the committee room of the assembly building on Wednesday.

Syed Sardar Ahmed suggested that an increase in the salaries and allowances of speaker, deputy speaker, ministers and MPAs should be as per the current ratio of surge in inflation against the inflation rate of 2005. He maintained that inflation has increased by 30-40 percent since 2005, therefore, MPAs should be given 40 percent increase in salaries or allowances, while the speaker, deputy speaker and ministers should be awarded a 30 percent increase.

Pir Mazhar said that it would not be suitable to increase the salaries of ministers. However, ministers belonging to interior Sindh, having no residence in Karachi, should be given proper residences or may be granted increase in their house rent. Muhammad Ayaz Soomro said that there is no allocation of allowance for ministers’ cell phone utilisation. He suggested that the new bill should include mobile phone allowance, while their travel allowance should also be enhanced.

Alwani viewed that increase in salaries would develop a negative image of the members amongst masses but said that the allowance should be enhanced by 40 percent. Responding to her suggestion, Syed Sardar Ahmed said that the overall and average increase should be 40 percent including less or high enhance in different allowances. Soomro said that before finalising the recommendations, enhancement in salaries and allowances of other provinces, particularly Punjab, should be kept in view. It was decided that the committee would hold its next meeting on coming Tuesday. The finance secretary will also attend that meeting and the members will submit more recommendations, while the Finance department would submit the relevant data.

Bachal Shah said that in Punjab, the chairman of any standing committee has been given the facility of a new car and BPS-17 grade secretary but in Sindh, the chairman is deprived of these facilities. Alwani asked the chairman whether her proposed bills regarding gender harassment and violation of rights of children and women could be discussed in the committee, to which Shah said that the committee would mull over it. Later, the committee adjourned its meeting till Tuesday. Meanwhile, it was also learnt that some MPAs have raised objections on the MPA quota of jobs being limited only to seven posts against the minister’s quota of 14 to 15 posts. ppi

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