Islamabad:
A panel of the Senate decided on Thursday to withdraw the legal powers of the Central Bank Boards and the Regulator of the Actions Market to set the salaries of their senior executives, after an exorbitant increase in the salary packages of the executives of the Commission of Securities and Values of Pakistan (SECP) shocked the legislators.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice, Raja Naeem Akbar, supported the decision of the Permanent Committee of the Finance Senate to amend the law of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the SECP law to withdraw the authority of its joints to fix executive wages.
Directed by Senator Salem MandviWalla of the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP), the Committee had called the president of the SECP, Akif Saeed, to inform about the issue of retrospective increases in their salary and that of the SECP commissioners.
According to the recommendation of Senator Anusha Rahman, the committee unanimously decided to move amendments in both laws: the SECP law and the SBP law. The Secretary of the Law assured the Panel that they say that the laws will be modified to withdraw the powers from the joints.
Rahman, according to his work, told the committee that of 18 regulators, the salaries of only three were set by their joints, while the payment packages of the other 15 were approved by the federal cabinet.
On Tuesday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also expressed “shock” for informing that the president of SECP was obtaining an annual salary of RS41 million. The Daily Dawn reported that an audit had raised serious concerns about SECP finances, including unauthorized salary increases for its president and commissioners that amounted to more than 156 million annual rupees.
The report declared that the Pakistan General Auditor (AGP) said that according to the law, SECP must obtain the approval of the Ministry of Finance for salary increases. However, the SECP Management proceeded to approve increases for its employees during a meeting of the Policy Board on October 17, 2024, as of July 1, 2023.
On Monday, the PAC questioned how a country in the economic crisis could afford such packages. The audit found that the payment of the president of the SECP, AKIF SAEED, had reached RS41.53 million for the fiscal year24, while each commissioner received RS35.8 million due to the increases with a decline. He also revealed that the SECP illegally distributed RS110 million in entertainment allocations to commissioners and staff.
The president of SECP defended the decision of the Board to increase his salary, saying that he was totally trained to act and made his decision based on a market survey.
“The authority to increase salary has been badly used,” said former Law Minister Farooq H Naek.
The president of the Permanent Committee, Senator Salem Mandviwalla, added that FBB President Rashid Langarial was also making such decisions. But Langarial, who was present at the meeting, denied it.
“My salary is a seventh of the president of the SECP,” said Dr. Kabir Sidhu, president of the Pakistan Competition Commission (CCP), who was also present. He pointed out that the PCCH, also a regulator, cannot set salaries without government approval.
The president of FBR said it was not a right without restrictions to increase wages at will and the joints must define a process before determining the increase in wages.
The Secretary of Law Raja Naeem Akbar, also a member of the SECP Board, revealed that the SECP management had recommended the increases, which the Board accepted after months of discussion.
Senator Rahman criticized the Ministry of Finance for granting these powers to the SECP and SBP boards creating exceptions. She said no one could abuse public funds in the name of autonomy and freedom. Senator Naek said that even the Pakistan Supreme Court cannot establish the salaries of the judges, which are set by Pakistan’s president by the Prime Minister’s Council.
The Daily Dawn also reported in February this year that the senior officials of the National Regulatory Authority of Electric Power (NEPRA) had increased their remuneration significantly without the mandatory approval of the cabinet.
The report says that presidents and members of regulatory bodies normally have the right to a maximum scale of the management position (MP) I with a basic salary of RS629,000 to RS772,780 per month.
But after the self -lined increases, the gross monthly salary of the president of the nepring increased to almost RS3.25 million, while the senior officials reached around RS2.95 million, according to the Dawn report.
