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AMMAN — The government’s 2011 restructuring plan was supposed to cost the Treasury JD82.5 million, but the actual cost exceeded JD254.4 million, according to the Audit Bureau.
The oversight agency’s recently released 2014 report said the Ministry of Public Sector Development estimated the cost of the administrative reform programme at JD82.5 million and the Finance Ministry allocated the funds in the 2012 state budget law, but the direct and indirect costs were over JD254.4 million.
The restructuring plan for civil servants aimed at reducing the salary gap between employees of independent public sector agencies and employees of ministries and government departments.
The bureau said the direct cost of restructuring the salaries of public sector employees reached JD163.5 million, while the indirect cost of raising the pensions of civil servants and army personnel who retired before the restructuring was around JD91 million.
With the professional allowances granted to employees of certain government agencies after the restructuring programme, the actual cost of the plan has put even additional burdens on the budget, as it exceeded JD363.5 million, the report said, adding that the programme failed to achieve its goals.
The restructuring was supposed to cap salaries for each public sector job based on duties, responsibilities and risks, but when it was implemented in accordance with the civil service by-law the cost of salaries and benefits of employees at independent institutions did not go down, the bureau said.
Employees of these agencies were compensated for the drop in their salaries with a special monthly allowance, the report said, adding that the restructuring process kept the high salaries and financial benefits, which contradicts the objectives of the reform programme.
“The implementation of the restructuring programme this way put huge annual costs on the Treasury for the long term as the salaries bill increased, causing higher current spending in the state budget.”