220 non-essential posts in NA Secretariat abolished

ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has ordered wide-ranging administrative reforms in the National Assembly Secretariat to save Rs1 billion annually.

Taking austerity measures, the NA speaker abolished 220 non-essential posts in grades 1 to 19, which would save the national exchequer more than Rs563 million annually.

Earlier, two of the three phases of administrative reforms were implemented successfully. In Phase I, 90 non-essential posts of various grades were abolished while in Phase II, 130 non-essential posts were done away with. In Phase III, additional savings of Rs400 million would be achieved.

The policy initiatives have been approved in a meeting of the finance committee of the NA Secretariat held under Ayaz Sadiq. The decisions included implementation of austerity plan, rationalising needs and requirements of the NA Secretariat and improvement in the procedure of determination, elimination, appointments and promotions, ensuring transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the panel stopped further recruitment in the secretariat unless decided otherwise, while a sub-committee has also been formed to review the National Assembly Secretariat Employees Act 2018 to make it more compatible with the Civil Servants Act 1973.

The committee will propose amendments to the National Assembly Employees Act 2018 to determine the strength of staff and to improve the system of promotions and appointments. The meeting was also informed that a ‘ticketing and lodging committee’ consisting of representatives of all relevant departments of the NA Secretariat has been formed to bring more transparency in the execution of work. It will clearly outline the work of the staff and officers and help in evaluating their performance to save overall resources.

The meeting was also apprised of the digitisation of the NA Secretariat, and a team from the Punjab Information Technology Board has already started work on that. Moreover, the speaker also directed to ensure timely construction of additional blocks of the Parliament Lodges.