• Govt’s proposed austerity plan aims to merge aviation, maritime divisions into defence ministry
• Axe to fall on health ministry, regulatory bodies such as PMDC, HEC
• Transport pool to go; grades 1-16 to be phased out

ISLAMABAD: The government may soon abolish regulatory bodies of the devolved subjects, particularly health and education, do away with transport facilities for all the federal ministries and divisions, phase out non-executive staff at the Centre and merge aviation and maritime divisions with the defence ministry as part of an upcoming restructuring and austerity drive.

The government has been under criticism over a tough federal budget and higher energy costs in its attempt to secure a $7 billion economic bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) without effective and matching expenditure control of the public sector.

The legislative process is expected to begin this month as some readjustments would require enabling changes to federal and provincial laws and a new division “Social Sector Affairs” would be created.

Back-to-back and overlapping committees have been working over the past months under the prime minister’s directives to come up with austerity measures. Many of these measures are expected to become part of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of the IMF and associated public sector restructuring programme of the World Bank.

First phase

A senior government official told Dawn that the final shape of the first phase of austerity and restructuring would be formally announced by the prime minister himself with the approval of the cabinet. He, however, added it was now almost clear that various regulatory councils of the subjects devolved under the 18th Amendment would have no place at the Centre.

This means the role, staff, and assets, including buildings of regulatory councils like the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the Federal Pharmacy Council and the Higher Education Commission etc. would stand fully transferred to the provinces. Some provinces already had similar organisations up and running and federal financing to them would come to an end with effect from the next fiscal year.

The provincial governments would not only finance these regulators but also organisations, attached departments, and universities and professional colleges falling in their jurisdiction. The federal universities and hospitals would then be run by corporate boards in the private sector on a Public-Private Partnership model for profitability and linkage to the market on the pattern of the United States, instead of the existing structure of senates and syndicates.

There would be a complete ban on the appointment of staff to federal universities and hospitals except for academic staff that would be hired on a lump sum remuneration package without any future liability on the federal exchequer.

In addition, there would be a freeze on recruitment of in grade 1-16 employees, i.e. support staff, across the federal government and gradually such posts would be abolished at the time of their vacancy. The officer cadre would be required to embrace artificial intelligence and digital tools instead of their heavy reliance on the support staff. The staff of devolved ministries and their related paraphernalia would be transferred to the surplus pool with an option for their transfer to the provinces or vacant seats in other organisations.

The sources said that except for a few operational organisations, like the National Highway and Motorway Police, the transport facility for the federal ministries and divisions would be abolished. However, the scope of transport monetisation would be expanded as it had been established through various studies that almost all officers in the federal ministries were massively misusing the transport facility.

The top tier was not only drawing hefty transport allowance every month but also using official transport. The corporate entities would also be guided towards similar lines. They would, however, be allowed a skeleton pool of passenger vehicles instead of luxury cars etc. Also, rental claims would be allowed for the purposes of delegations.

Social sector affairs

The official said the health ministry would be abolished and a wing would be established under a new division to be called Social Sector Affairs. This new division would deal with matters relating to international aspects and inter-provincial coordination of health and population welfare.

The official said that a report on the rationalisation of federal government expenditure in May noted that a large number of support staff and ex-cadre officers of the ministry would be affected as it would be reduced to one wing headed by a BS-20 officer. “Except for the group officers, the rest will be placed in the surplus pool under the Civil Servants Act 1973.”

A total of 629 civil servants would be affected due to the merger of their organisation entities with an autonomous body who would be either placed in the surplus pool or the establishment division or will become employees of autonomous bodies thro­ugh enabling legislation.

The merger of the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority and National Emergency Health Services will affect 60 civil servants while 106 employees of the National Trust for Population Welfare, the IHRA, and Human Organ Transplant Authority will be affected due to the merger.

About 2400 employees would be affected by the transfer of Sheikh Zaid Medical Hospital, the National Research Institute of Fertility Control and the Malaria Control Centres.

Except for the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences and Polyclinic, all federal health facilities, including government hospitals, basic health units, community health centres, dispensaries, and the National Institute Of Rehabilitation Medicine, would be contracted out under the public private partnership model.

A similar formula would also apply to other ministries of devolved subjects.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2024