Salman Ahmad, member of the economic advisory council, said that the outgoing government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz has decided that it would resist the boom cycle and implementation to ensure sustainable economic growth.
Speaking on PK Press Club News “ Talk-Talk ” of the program, he noted that the government actively undertakes a complete exercise of rights aimed at eliminating redundancy, duplication and ineffectiveness between ministries and federal departments to reduce the charge of taxpayers and support economic reforms.
He explained that wherever public funds are spent without providing services – in particular in the ministries developed to the provinces after the 18th amendment or departments with exceeded and redundant mandates – recommendations are compiled for a necessary action.
Out of 39 federal ministries comprising around 450 departments, the government is currently examining 32 ministries with nearly 350 departments. “A line by line is underway and recommendations are sent to the federal office for approval,” he added.
Platifying that no ministry is still closed, Ahmed said: “We are not closing the ministries for the moment, but we analyze their functions and send recommendations – this could imply the merger of the services, close them, transfer them or even distance them from the books.”
When asked if the employees would be dismissed, he stressed that even if the right can lead to difficult decisions, it is necessary. “The inhabitants of Pakistan already support a heavy tax burden. It is our responsibility to reduce this charge through rights, in particular in unproductive institutions or when no work is done,” he said.
He also underlined a broader economic plan – sustainable economic growth, affirming: “The course towards sustainable economic growth begins by allowing the perception of failure, undertaking structural reforms, ensuring economic stability, attracting investments – and we can then reach the stage of real sustainable economic growth.”
In addition, he said that when the country moves on the path of economic stability, political pressure emerges on the “lack” of visible economic growth. This pressure, he warned, threatens to derail the reform agenda and push back Pakistan in a boom-bust cycle.
“This is the decision of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the current government to resist this cycle and rather pursue long -term structural reforms,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed also revealed that the rights process was underway in the past year. Recommendations concerning 10 federal ministries have already been submitted to the office, with other exams continuing regularly. “Every four to five weeks, we have recommendations for four to five ministries,” he added.
Responding to questions about the nature of these recommendations, Ahmed said the government did not plan to close entire ministries. However, the individual services of these ministries can be closed, merged, reduced or transferred, depending on their relevance and their performance.
