Islamabad:
A Senate Panel on Thursday decided to withdraw the legal powers of the Central Bank boards of Central Bank and Equity Market regulator to set wages for their top executives, following an exorbitant increase in the pay packages for Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) leaders shocked legislators.
The Ministry of Law and Justice Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar supported the Senate’s Standing Committee for the Finance’s decision to change the State Bank in Pakistan (SBP) ACT and SECP Act to withdraw their board authority to set out earnings.
Under the leadership of Senator Saleem Mandviwalla from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the committee had called SECP chairman Akif Saeed to map the question of retrospective increases in his salary and SECP Commissioners.
At Senator Anusha Rahman’s recommendation, the committee unanimously decided to move amendments to both laws -SECP law and the SBP Act. The Law Secretary assured the panel that the laws will be changed to withdraw the boards.
According to her work, Rahman told the committee that out of 18 regulators, only wages of three were determined by their boards, while wage packages from the other 15 were approved by the federal cabinet.
On Tuesday, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also expressed “shock” over reports that the SECP chairman drew an annual salary of RS41 million. Daily Dawn reported that a revision had raised serious concerns about the SECP’s economy, including unauthorized wage increases for its chairman and commissioners who amounted to RS156 million annually.
The report stated that the auditor for Pakistan (AGP) found that the SECP under the law must obtain approval by the Ministry of Finance for wage increases. However, the SECP management continued to approve travel for its employees during a political board meeting on October 17, 2024, with effect from July 1, 2023.
On Monday, PAC questioned how a country in economic crisis could afford such packages. The audit found that SECP chairman Akif Saeed’s salary had reached the RS41.53 million for FY24, while each commissioner received RS35.8 million due to back -dated increases. It also revealed SECP illegally distributed RS110 million in entertainment allowances to commissioners and staff.
The SECP chairman defended the board’s decision to increase his salary and said it was fully authorized to trade and made his decision based on a market survey.
“The authority to increase wages has been abused,” noted former Attorney General Senator Farooq H naek.
Standing Committee President Senator Saleem Mandviwalla added that FBR chairman Rashid Langrial also made such decisions. But Langrial, present in the meeting, refused.
“My salary is a seventh of the SECP chairman,” Dr. Kabir Sidhu, chairman of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP), who was also present. He noted that CCP, also a regulator, cannot set wages without government approval.
The FBR chairman said it was not an unbound right to increase wages as desired and boards must define a process before the increase in wages decides.
Law Secretary Raja Naeem Akbar, also a member of the SECP Board, revealed that SECP Management had recommended the increases that the board accepted after months of discussion.
Senator Rahman criticized the Ministry of Finance for giving these powers to SECP and SBP boards by creating exceptions. She said no one could abuse public funds in the name of autonomy and freedom. Senator Naek pointed out that even the Supreme Court in Pakistan cannot set the judges’ salaries set by the president of Pakistan according to the Prime Minister’s Council.
Daily Dawn also reported in February this year that the top officials of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) had raised their remuneration significantly without mandatory cabinet approval.
The report said the chairmen and members of the regulatory bodies are usually entitled to a maximum management position (MP) scale-i with a basic salary of RS629,000 to RS772,780 per year. Month.
But after self-approved increases, the Nepra chairman’s gross monthly salary rose to almost RS3.25 million, while senior officials’ salaries reached around RS2.95 million according to the DAWN report.
