AT a time when the nation is struggling to maintain financial solvency, the federal government is sending all the wrong messages, especially where the size of the cabinet is concerned. The prime minister on Wednesday announced the inclusion of seven special assistants — SAPMs — bringing the cabinet’s size to an unwieldy figure of 85. The message from the top seems to be austerity for the people, business as usual for the ruling elite. While the newly inducted cabinet members will reportedly work on a pro bono basis, with the interior minister saying they will not avail salary, perks or privileges, it is difficult to believe that these officials will come at zero cost to the exchequer. After all, their office expenses and other related overheads are likely to be borne by the state. Moreover, when huge numbers of people — some say millions — across the country have lost their jobs, in both the manufacturing and services industries, expanding the federal cabinet is just bad optics. Justifying the move, the interior minister bizarrely said the additions were made “to praise them [new SAPMs]”. The PDM’s jumbo cabinet is perhaps trying to replicate the feat achieved by former Balochistan chief minister Aslam Raisani, who in 2011 had a 51-member cabinet drawn from the 65 provincial assembly members in Pakistan’s least-developed province.

Instead of stuffing more people into the cabinet, the administration should be leading a leaner operation and cutting down on unnecessary expenditures. Considering the fact that the PDM government only has a few more months in power — unless the set-up is given an extension due to ‘force majeure’ — the new appointments make even less sense. Unless of course ‘electables’ and ‘influentials’ are being given incentives to stick with the PML-N come election time. Whatever the justifications, there should be no more additions to the cabinet, and preferably its size should be reduced so that the administration can concentrate on the grave challenges at hand.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2023