Govt to announce stringent austerity measures on 15th

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.