PM Shehbaz directs ministries to save ‘each penny’ of taxpayers

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the country cannot afford that the bureaucracy and the elite enjoying luxuries at the expenses paid in taxes by the poor as the federal cabinet greenlighted the continuation of austerity drive.

“In view of the larger national interests, all ministries and institutions should take all possible decisions and initiatives that could save each penny of the nation,” the premier said while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet.

He said that steps were being taken, on a priority basis, to further improve governance and bring about institutional reforms in the country.

“We are introducing digitisation and smart management of institutions to modernise the country’s system and harmonise it in accordance with the international requirements,” PM Shehbaz said.

He also appreciated the decisions taken by the finance minister, minister for national food security, minister for energy and other relevant ministers and officials for ensuring uninterrupted supply of urea fertiliser for the upcoming Rabi crop.

An amount of $130 million was saved in the national exchequer by halting the import of urea and by ensuring uninterrupted gas supply to urea fertilizer units for the upcoming Rabi crop.

On the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Works, proposals were presented in the federal cabinet regarding the dissolution of Pakistan Public Works Department (PWD), transfer of its staff and ongoing projects to other ministries and institutions.

The meeting was informed that on the directions of the prime minister, necessary maintenance staff and inquiries were being handed over to the ministries concerned and provincial governments to continue uninterrupted work on the ongoing development and PSDP projects tasked to PWD.

In this regard, the federal cabinet approved the recommendations of the Ministry of Housing and Works.

The cabinet was presented with the recommendations of the Rightsizing of the Federal Government Committee set up for Institutional Reforms, headed by the finance minister.

The cabinet was informed that in order to improve the performance of the federal government, proper use of manpower, removal of unnecessary impediments in the policy-making and implementation of decisions, and to further strengthen the most important departments and bodies, the first phase of work on committee’s recommendations about six ministries had already been initiated.

The meeting was further informed that in the light of the recommendations of the committee, a total of 82 government bodies related to these ministries were being merged and dissolved into 40 such institutions, in which digitisation, smart management, efficient governance, transparent and speedy implementation of projects and better provision of facilities to the common man would be ensured.

The federal cabinet also approved the recommendations of the committee and set up a committee to ensure the protection of the interests of the employees who were expected to be affected by the merger and dissolution of these entities.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the progress on the ongoing austerity drive and implementation of measures under the prime minister’s vision and directives to reduce government expenditure.

The federal cabinet nodded for the continuation of the austerity drive approved by the cabinet under the leadership of PM Shehbaz during the previous tenure of his government.

These measures included voluntary non-withdrawal of salaries by the cabinet members, ban on purchase of government vehicles other than essential vehicles such as ambulances, ban on purchase of new equipment and machinery, creation of new government posts, non-essential foreign travel at the government expenses and ban on treatment abroad.

The prime minister urged the ministers to ensure that austerity measures were being implemented in their relevant ministries and institutions. He also lauded their efforts in ensuring implementation of austerity measures.

The cabinet also endorsed the decisions taken in the meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) held on August 22, 2024.