Travel in economy class, self-pay utility bills, stay in five-star hotels abroad and discount on purchases of luxury items. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced the austerity measures.
Offices will open at 7:30 a.m. One-dish policy, Tosha Khana records will be public, gift up to $300 allowed, and do not place cases in front of biased mages Prime Minister
ISLAMABAD (Khalid Mahmood Monitoring Desk, Agencies) Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced the austerity measures and said that all the members of the federal cabinet are content voluntarily and have decided not to take concessions for the next two years. During this period, no administrative unit, division, district, or detail will be established. By June 2024, the purchase of luxury goods and new vehicles will be banned. Government offices will open at 7:30 a.m. to save energy. 200 billion rupees will be saved annually by these measures, it will be done only in federal institutions, and the provinces will have their share separately.
It is expected that soon the IMF will settle the matter and the agreement will result in further inflation. He expressed these views while addressing the meeting of the Federal Cabinet and later with the Federal Ministers at the Jamar O’Priess Ka Nafer Nis. Shahbaz Sharif said that all the federal ministers, advisers, ministers of state, and special assistants have volunteered and decided not to take benefits and pay the utility bills from their own pockets. All the luxury vehicles are being taken back from the members which will be auctioned, where there is a need, only one vehicle will be given to the ministers for security.
Cabinet members will travel domestically and abroad in economy class, they will not stay in five-star hotels during foreign trips. Cabinet workers, public representatives, and government officials will not travel in luxury cars, the security vehicles of government officials are being withdrawn, and security will be given to officers only in case of danger. Abroad travel expenses and accommodation will be reduced.
A single treasury account is being established. Government offices will use new equipment using less electricity, and government employees and government officials will not be allotted a single plot. A committee has been established under the chairmanship of the Law Minister. Townhouses will be constructed for these officers and good houses with all facilities will be provided while the lands of the existing houses will be saved and resources of Rs. All ministerial and institutional expenses will be reduced by 15%, and there will be a one-dish ban on government events, federal ministries, and institutions, if there is an occasion for tea, only tea and biscuits will be given. This restriction will not apply to foreign guests.
The Prime Minister said requested the provincial governments, and judiciary to practice frugality and simplicity, Pakistan Army has shown a positive reaction to reducing non-war expenditure. Regarding Tosha Khana, the cabinet has decided that after today, gifts worth up to 300 dollars or 80 thousand rupees can be kept. A gift worth more than this will be collected, Tosha Khana has decided to make the car record public. So the gifts of the President, Prime Minister, Federal Ministers, Governors, and government officers come to Shahkhana, and the ban will be applied to them. The gifts received by the judges of the judiciary and the military leadership do not come to the royal palace. Tosha Khana’s gifts will be audited by an independent third party. All these austerity measures will be implemented in all institutions and offices including the President’s House, and Prime Minister’s House. Shahbaz Sharif said PASCO has imported wheat worth billions of dollars and there is no shortage of wheat in the country, now the flour lines should end. Medical, health, and education allowances are protected by law, in the context of inflation and devaluation of the rupee, the salaries of civil servants are very low. Do not want to put more burden on them, after the successful implementation of these measures, Ashralamiya will put more burden on them.
