The National Assembly has fired more than 200 employees to cut costs, with official documents revealing that MPs have increased their salaries by almost 300 percent.
In its annual report published at the end of the parliamentary year, the National Assembly Secretariat said that 220 employees were fired during two phases of right-sizing to save Rs1 billion annually.
The Finance Committee of the National Assembly, headed by Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, has approved several policy measures to improve the operations of the secretariat.
In the first two phases, unnecessary posts from Grades 1 to 19 were eliminated, which reduced the Assembly’s expenses by more than Rs563 million.
The third phase of reforms is being launched to save Rs1 billion every year.
In the first phase, 90 unnecessary posts were eliminated, which will save Rs 255.84 million per year.
In the second phase, 130 posts were eliminated, which will save Rs 37.5 million in expenses.
The report did not mention the recent increase in the remuneration of MNAs, whose basic salary was increased from Rs 180,000 to Rs 519,000.
It is also not clear how the increase in MNA salaries will offset the expected savings from rightsizing.
However, the report said that these dismissals are part of a broader effort to streamline the operations of the National Assembly Secretariat and ensure its financial sustainability.
