Shehbaz reviews fuel price pressures, orders salary cuts, vehicle curbs and spending restrictions across institutions
PM Shehbaz chairs a meeting on austerity measures. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB
Funds saved through the government’s austerity measures will be used to provide relief to the public under the current circumstances, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced on Saturday.
The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Islamabad to review the impact of the regional situation on petroleum product prices and the implementation of government cost-saving measures.
Last week, Prime Minister Sharif unveiled several energy conservation and austerity measures to preempt fuel shortages and declared that he would not further increase the prices of petroleum products after a massive hike of Rs55 per litre, seeking to pacify an unnerved public while shouldering the cost of rising prices.
The measures announced by the prime minister in a pre-recorded nationally televised speech were aimed at saving fuel and raising funds to partially offset any further increase in the prices of diesel and petrol. The remaining gap is expected to be filled by the Finance Ministry’s Rs390 billion contingency fund pool.
The meeting discussed policy steps aimed at maintaining stability in petroleum prices as well as progress on austerity measures and their potential impact.
According to the statement, all savings generated through the government’s austerity drive will be directed towards public relief.
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As part of the measures, salaries of employees in state-owned enterprises and autonomous institutions operating under government patronage will be reduced in stages from 5% to 30%, similar to reductions already applied to government employees.
The meeting also decided that government representatives serving on the boards of corporations and other institutions would not receive board meeting fees, which will instead be added to the savings pool.
The prime minister directed Pakistani embassies around the world to observe the national day celebrations on 23rd March with simplicity.
According to the PMO statement, officials said the four-day work week policy would not apply to law enforcement agencies or the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which will continue to follow their existing work schedules.
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The meeting also reviewed a decision to cut fuel allocations for government vehicles by 50% for the next two months and to ground 60% of official vehicles, with a third-party audit to be conducted on the implementation.
Participants were also briefed on a complete ban on the purchase of new government vehicles and restrictions on other official procurement.
For the next two months, the salaries of cabinet members, ministers, advisers and special assistants will also be redirected as savings for public welfare.
A ban on foreign visits by ministers, advisers, special assistants and government officials will remain in place, with teleconferencing and online meetings to be prioritised.
The prime minister directed relevant secretaries to ensure the implementation and monitoring of all austerity measures and to submit daily reports to a review committee.
Federal ministers Attaullah Tarar, Muhammad Aurangzeb and Ali Pervaiz Malik, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, the chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue and other senior officials attended the meeting.
