Promotion of bureaucrats PM, ministers get new powers

[DEVOLUTION GEEK]

FPSC's ROLE CURTAILED BY GOVERNMENT

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his 70 ministers, in possibly one of their last meetings of the federal cabinet on Tuesday, approved unprecedented powers for themselves to have a big role in the promotion of top bureaucrats.

The powers assumed by the PM will straight away diminish the role of the Central Selection Board headed by the chairman FPSC. In future, the prime minister would be empowered to reject or accept the recommendation of promotion of any officer (BS 19-22) without giving any reason to the selection board unlike the existing law in his capacity as the chief executive of the country.

In a related major move, for the first time, the recommendation of the selection board will also be sent to the federal ministers to either reject or accept them, depending upon their own sweet will.

The summary to the effect was moved by the Establishment Division with the approval of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. These sweeping changes in the relevant civil service rules are said to have been made ahead of the selection board, which is scheduled to recommend many top officers for promotion in the top grades before the dissolution of the present government.

Talking to The News, Establishment Secretary Syed Tariq Ali Bokhari confirmed that changes were proposed in the relevant rules as the powers of the prime minister were not spelt out comprehensively, which were causing some confusion.

He said now the relevant law after approval from the cabinet would be sent to the parliament for the required changes. When asked about the powers for ministers to have their own say in the promotion of officers in BS 16-18, the secretary establishment said let the decision of the cabinet come in a written form as things might not be the same as this correspondent was explaining to him. However, he did not agree with the question that these powers to the prime minister and ministers might politicize the whole bureaucracy.

The federal cabinet approved unprecedented powers for the prime minister in the promotion of top bureaucrats and he would not be obliged to give any reason to the selection board at the time of his decision to reject or accept its recommendations.

The new amendment said promotions to the posts in basic pay scale of 20 and 21 and equivalent shall be made on the recommendation of a selection board, which shall be headed by the chairman FPSC. "Provided that where the appointing authority does not accept the recommendation of the selection board, it shall record reasons therefore and may either refer a case back to the selection board for reconsideration or may reject or modify the recommendation and pass order accordingly.”

But, sources said, the cabinet ministers argued that a prime minister should not give any reason to the selection board for his decision to reject or accept the decision of the promotion board. This proposal greatly pleased the prime minister in chair and he also hurriedly gave powers to the ministers to have a big say in the promotion of civil servants in BS 16-18.

SOURCE : THE NEWS. NOVEMBER 8,2007

[DEVOLUTION GEEK]

Doom’s day is coming. Current regime is leaving no stone unturned to damage the structure of bureaucracy.

[abidusman]

The perinial problem is that our civil bureaucracy is torn between GHQ led ruling clique comprising Grab all gang of political pirates at the one end, and old guards, being full of frauds and acquisitive tendencies in the shape of benazir and nawaz sharif having been tried and tested and equally worst, some found-again naive expectation about them notwithstanding. now first bevy of people on the shoulder of pervaiz musharaf is ransacking every institution of country and other is biding its time to come into power and do the same if theu could and line up their pockets because they are seeing with envy present money making business . Bureaucracy will only serve them like their personal servants .