- 60% of vacant regular positions eliminated, declares the Minister of Finance.
- Aurangzeb’s wish committee will reduce 80 institutions to 40.
- He says they are trying to cut public spending by 900 billion rupees.
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Tuesday vowed to downsize 42 ministries and their 400 attached departments by June 30 of the current fiscal year to reduce expenditure and improve government efficiency.
Speaking at the press conference while sharing the six-month review of the High Level Committee on Right-Sizing, the Finance Minister said, “We have decided to subject five or six departments to right-sizing in each phase.”
Aurangzeb was accompanied by Head of the National Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Bilal Azhar Kayani, and Ambassador-at-Large Dr Salman Ahmad, who heads the implementation committee.
The minister said 60% of vacant permanent positions – which have not been paid – which amounted to 150,000 have been eliminated or declared disappearing positions, creating a real financial impact.
“Everything is done after due ratification by the federal cabinet,” Aurangzeb said, adding that the committee would halve the 80 institutions.
The committee, he explained, also decided to outsource non-essential general services, including cleaning, plumbing and gardening, to gain efficiency, adding that the number of emergency positions would also be reduced.
Speaking about the economy, FinMin Aurangzeb said the first six months of the fiscal year were focused on macroeconomic stability and now the focus was on sustainable growth.
The minister recalled that efforts had been made earlier to reduce the size of the federal government, adding that they were trying to reduce the federal government’s expenditure by Rs900 billion.
“The objective of resizing is not only to reduce expenses, but also to improve performance,” underlined the minister.
He added that it was also decided that the Ministry of Finance would have live visibility into the cash balances of all government entities. “It cannot happen that on the one hand we are borrowing and on the other hand government departments have unused cash balances.”
However, he added, this has nothing to do with people, but rather to improve efficiency, adding that this is being implemented in all ministries.
He said that under the first wave, six ministries including Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit Baltistan, SAFRON; Information technologies and telecommunications; Industries and Production; Regulation and coordination of national health services; The Capital Development Authority (CAD) has been dealt with.
Aurangzeb said the committee decided to merge the ministries of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Border Regions (SAFRON), while the DAC was abolished.