STOP taking redundant, superfluous and avoidable foreign loans

Mr. Muhammad Aurangzeb

Minister of Finance, Block-‘Q’,

Finance Division, Pak. Secretariat, Islamabad

Dear Sir,

As a citizen of Pakistan I am devastated, seriously hurt and painfully aggrieved at the news that we have been yet again duped, misled and trapped by unethical bureaucrats and consultants to agree on a completely redundant, superfluous and avoidable ADB loan of $659 million to improve or reform our pension program. You chose this devastating loan option, knowing fully well that this project is entirely doable by local resources and that there are enough highly competent individuals in Pakistan, who would happily undertake this assignment at a negligible cost. This loan will burden future generations with unsustainable debt, deepen poverty, and push millions more children out of school. It would indeed be remembered as an act of dark, deadly and deliberate financial sabotage of Pakistan.

It is ironic that a nation that has no plan or desire to register its 90 percent workers even in a basic EOBI pension scheme is gung-ho on taking a loan of $659 million to ostensibly ” improve” its public sector pension programme.

Kindly find placed below some simple pension proposals, that could preserve your dignity and prevent your begging ADB for a $659 million loan.

1. Apply contributory pension scheme for ALL government officials, judicial, civil and military from NOW, without giving vague future dates. Every individual contributes 10% of basic salary towards a pension fund that is matched by a similar amount by the government.

2. The highest pension for ANY official in Pakistan, judicial, civil or military be capped at Rs300,000 per month, with no extra perks, facilities, cars, fuel or free electricity. There is no moral justification for giving a pension of Rs 2,390,000 per month to the Chief Justice and Rs11500 to a worker.

3. Make ALL pensions taxable, like any other income.

4. Stop pension theft. It is the responsibility of the state to monitor and register all deaths. NADRA ought to create a digital system that enables every death to be recorded on the same day and automatically cancels CNIC, Pension, Salary, and SIM, all across Pakistan.

5. STOP ALL retired government officials, judicial, civil and military from drawing salary AND pension in case of rehiring after retirement.

6. STOP ALL retired government officials, judicial, civil and military from drawing pension from two different government departments.

7. Pension should be limited to a pensioner and spouse only and NOT continued to the next generation.

8. The above pension rules be applied, from NOW, on all current employees and not just on new hires.

Sincerely,

Naeem Sadiq