THE recent addition to the already bloated federal cabinet of a country on the verge of financial default needs to be seen in its true perspective. For doing nothing, which involves staying at home and watching TV, or appearing on TV to make mindless conversations, or travel in free state-provided flag cars when on ground and first class luxury when by air, for free boarding and lodging in five-star hotels, for free office, staff, waiters, drivers, gardeners, security, for free medical and for numerous other free entitlements and non-entitlements, every idle and non-value-adding cabinet minister costs Pakistan about Rs5 million per month.

This translates into Rs385 million per month for the current cabinet, and Rs4.62 billion for one year. This is just about the amount required to pay Rs10,000 extra to compensate every one of the thousands of exploited sanitation workers in the country who are currently not being paid even their due minimum legal wage of Rs25,000.

The federal government should cut down its truckload of ministers, and bring the cabinet strength down to 15 or even lesser.

Naeem Sadiq
Karachi

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2023