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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has created four new ministries and an official statement termed it a move to improve governance.
“In order to ensure clarity in role, integrated service delivery and efficiency in administering the federal administrative function after implementation of the 18th Amendment, restructuring has been done and four new administrative units (ministries) have been created by the prime minister in terms of Rule 3(2) of the Rules of Business, 1973,” the statement issued by Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.
The decision was announced on Wednesday before the prime minister left for Australia to attend a Commonwealth meeting.
It was not clear how much additional expenses the exchequer will have to bear as a result of the decision taken at a time when the government claims to be trying to reduce expenses in view of the financial problems the country faces.
According to the notification, Samina Khalid Ghurki has been given the portfolio of National Heritage and Integration and Senator Mir Israrullah Zehri of Food Security and Research. The ministers for disaster management and national regulations and services will be appointed later.
Under Rule 3 (2), the prime minister may, whenever necessary, constitute a new ministry consisting of one or more divisions.
Under the new arrangement, the administrative subjects remaining with the federal government following devolution under the 18th Amendment have been restructured.
The notification said the restructuring had been made in line with the principles of good governance as this arrangement would bring cohesion, enhance efficiency and improve service delivery in administering the subjects assigned to different federal ministries.
Meanwhile, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani has been made Minister of Inter-Provincial Coordination, the post earlier held by Senator Raza Rabbani who resigned in May this year.
Ms Ghurki, Mr Zehri and Mr Bijarani were part of the federal cabinet before the prime minister dissolved their ministries after the 18th Amendment.
Under the amendment, the total strength of the cabinet, including ministers of state, should not exceed 11 per cent of the membership of parliament. But this clause will come into force after the next general elections.
Therefore, after the elections, the prime minister will not be able to have more than 50 members in the cabinet.
Prime Minister Gilani has 38 federal ministers, eight ministers of state and six advisers and after the creation of the new ministries the number of cabinet members will exceed the figure of 50.
