Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing a meeting on Tuesday to review the implementation of austerity measures announced by the government in light of the current regional situation. Photo: PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved the declaration of Friday as an additional weekly public holiday as part of the government’s austerity and energy-saving measures, while ordering all federal ministries and divisions to strictly implement the policy.
Chairing a review meeting at the Prime Minister’s House, the Prime Minister said the government was making all possible efforts to maintain the stability of the national economy despite the current global and regional challenges.
He informed the meeting that a special committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had been constituted to review the implementation of austerity and energy conservation measures on a daily basis and submit reports.
The Prime Minister also ordered that austerity measures adopted by ministries be subject to third-party audit to assess their impact and ensure transparency and effectiveness.
He asked ministries and institutions to send photographs of vehicles decommissioned due to the austerity policy to the Cabinet Division, while each ministry was also directed to submit reports to the Prime Minister’s Office on measures taken to improve work-from-home arrangements.
The meeting was informed that all federal ministries and divisions would submit daily and weekly reports to the special committee regarding the implementation of energy saving measures and manpower management.
At a separate meeting reviewing the affairs of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the prime minister directed authorities to bring the most productive sectors under automated monitoring systems to improve tax collection and curb tax evasion.
He highlighted the need to strengthen enforcement mechanisms and appreciated the economic team for integrating experts into the management team of Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) based on their merits to transform the organization into a more efficient institution.
Officials informed the participants that technology-based monitoring systems have already been implemented in sectors such as sugar, cement, cigarettes and fertilizers, thereby contributing to higher tax collection.
Similar schemes are being introduced in the textile, leather, paper, automobile and beverage sectors, which are expected to generate billions of rupees in additional tax revenue.
