In order to retain the deficit for the next fiscal year, the government has finalised stringent austerity measures which would be announced on Wednesday. An official source said Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh would announce the measures in the National Assembly, adding that the austerity measures were being taken to further tighten control over the current expenditures as no cut from the development expenditure was possible to bridge the fiscal deficit.
The government would announce retaining a ban on new employment in the federal departments as more than 40,000 employees were expected to become redundant with the devolution of 18 federal ministries. These people would be accommodated on vacant posts and no new employment would be made. There would be a complete ban on the purchase of durable goods like televisions, computers and refrigerators as surplus of these items would be available for utilisation from devolved ministries.
Under the new measures, the petrol and maintenance of official vehicles would be frozen, officers in grade 20 and above would be offered monetary compensation in place of official chauffeur-driven car with unlimited petrol. At present 1,391 officers are allowed official cars. The monetization scheme would offer them Rs 40,000 to 70,000 cash per month along with the salary.
He said steps would be taken to disallow use of project and allied department vehicles by the top officials. The cabinet had already approved the policy and the Cabinet Division was responsible for the implementation of the policy. However, the ministries would be allowed to keep a pool of cars for official work.
The government spends close to Rs 1 billion on the cars and their maintenance while the total cost of monetization was Rs 800 million per annum, saving Rs 200 million per year. It would allow savings of Rs 1.6 billion that was allocated for the purchase of new vehicles in the next fiscal year. The measures also include submission of all fines and penalties imposed by regulatory authorities to the consolidated fund, as regulatory bodies imposed heavy fines and retained it themselves. It would also allow extra income to the government and reduce its borrowing.
I am passing this comment for the learned minister which could give inst solutions to the downtrodden sixteen crore poor,deprived and safaidposdh,,I received, for the perusal of all.
Children of lesser GOD and budget For the last 45 months it is a fond practice of ruling party to enhance its vote bank by bribing them with various types of benefits.Benazir Income Support fund targeted some one crore voters with two trillion rupees extorted from poor man taxes and famished national exchequer. Another has been to raise salaries and pension rates earlier by 50%-25% and again this year 15% and 20% at eleventh hour this year and also in past on the pretext to offer relief against inflation, improving efficiency and curbing corruption which covertly could buy them more than two crore bribed voters from: serving government, public sector, defense servicing personnel and retired from these sectors. Only this year when it would cost some two trillion rupees to the deficit exchequer and perhaps not less than six trillions rupees in previous three years extorted from poor man taxe money. The pertinent question is: did it give some relief ,improved efficiency or reduced corruption? Not at all! On the other hand, unprecedented increase in inflation occurred in forty months and prices of daily essentials, utilities tariffs rose by for 500-1000%,with no ;bijli,pani,roti,kapra’,etc with 7000 billion increased loans, more than 1000 billion deficit financing, inefficiency in government sectors reached minus zero, corruption hit beyond the limit of skies; enslaving country to IMF,drones,NATO,UK,USA pounding poor to pieces and forcing them to committing suicides so that the ill gotten trillion of dollars of corrupt elites could be saved in foreign banks and their power perpetuates.
The question arises; why reward the corrupt serving or retired employees with huge increases as in last forty five months drying national exchequer to devastate energy, utilities sectors ,prices of daily essentials astronomically rising every hour and so corruption. Another question is: are non government, private sector retired employees,saidposh who have nothing to fall back upon are, children of lesser GOD to be butchered with no mercy.They served their country with utmost honesty in high positions or otherwise, now yet burn themselves in 48C heat but would not temper the electricity meter nor beg,borrow or steal, starve, remain sick due to their constricted financial resource as one elderly person in mid seventies I know yet remains busy twenty four hours for his passionate contributions for thr love of poor and greatness of Islam.. Such great men are the real honorable citizen of state,still paying indirect taxes and others through their stomach crunching bellies are being crucified for the sake of corrupt, incompetent of above sectors by guttering hundred of billion dollars to win their votes in forthcoming election .If this money had been diverted to welfare of common man, nation could had been saved from horrible load shedding,no water,no bijli,no pani,no roti,no kapra,no horrendous mehangi’ etc.I would request all opinion leaders and parliamentarians to frustrate the pay -pension increase aimed to generate vote bank (pre poll rigging of political governments)of the corrupt government employees both serving or retired and instead recover from them 1000 trillion looted dollars to set economy on track for the welfare of common man and Pakistan. Jehlum
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