Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is chairing a meeting on Tuesday to review the implementation of the government’s announced austerity measures in light of the current regional situation. Photo: PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday approved declaring Friday as an additional weekly holiday as part of the government’s austerity and energy-saving measures, while directing all federal ministries and departments to strictly implement the policy.
Chairing a review meeting at the Prime Minister’s House, the Prime Minister said the government was making every effort to keep the national economy stable despite the prevailing 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 saving measures on a daily basis and submit reports.
The prime minister also directed that the austerity measures adopted by government departments should undergo a third-party audit to evaluate their impact and ensure transparency and efficiency.
He directed ministries and institutions to send photographs to the Cabinet Office of vehicles taken out of service under the austerity policy, while each ministry was also required to submit reports to the Prime Minister’s Office on measures taken to improve arrangements for working from home.
The meeting was informed that all federal ministries and departments would submit daily and weekly reports to the Special Committee regarding implementation of energy saving measures and workforce management.
In a separate meeting reviewing the affairs of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the Prime Minister directed the authorities to bring maximum productive sectors under automated monitoring systems to improve tax collection and curb tax evasion.
He emphasized the need to strengthen the enforcement mechanisms and appreciated the financial team for inducting experts in the management team of Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) on merit to transform the organization into a more effective institution.
Officials briefed the meeting that technology-based monitoring systems had already been implemented in sectors like sugar, cement, cigarettes and fertilizers, which contribute to higher tax collection.
Similar systems are being introduced in the textile, leather, paper, automobile and beverage sectors, which are expected to generate billions of rupees in additional tax revenue.
