On Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that government agencies and establishments that were losing billions of dollars to the country and the exchequer would be closed when a committee completed its investigation.
The prime minister said in a speech to the nation today that the government’s primary responsibility was to cut back on extravagant spending and close ministries and departments unrelated to public service, like the Pakistan Public Works Department, which he claimed was one of the notoriously corrupt institutions.
He said that all such departments that had become a burden on the nation and its citizens would be closed down, and that a ministerial committee had been established to discuss the matter of such unnecessary ministries and departments. He promised to provide favorable outcomes within the next two months.
“This is a step that will save billions, in my opinion.”
He went on to say that the government had made the decision to privatize and recover the costs associated with all those institutions and organizations that were starting to cause losses to the nation amounting to billions of dollars.
The prime minister announced that the administration has chosen austerity and cost-cutting measures wherever practicable.
According to PM Shehbaz, the government would encourage private investment and the private sector instead of establishing new companies of its own.
The prime minister recalled how the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s coalition government came to office in April 2022 and prevented the nation from going into default. He acknowledged the accomplishment and gave appreciation to the coalition’s leaders and partners, including Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl president Fazlur Rehman.
“Pakistan is gradually emerging from its economic problems and heading in the direction of growth and prosperity today.”
He claimed that in addition to being challenging and drawn out, the path ahead required “sacrifice” from the ruling class and government employees.
“The entire country is staring at the government, wondering how we will put an end to its economic woes and usher in a revolution of prosperity.”
PM Shehbaz described the reduction in inflation to 12% as a “positive change” and attributed it to the government’s efforts since the PML-N regained control of the government following the February 8 elections, during which he was re-elected as prime minister.
In a similar vein, he said that by lowering the interest rate from 22 percent to 20 percent, the nation would attract investment and bear less of the burden of loan interest. Shehbaz said that the current administration has been in office for 100 days and mentioned the reductions in petroleum product prices that occurred on Friday, claiming that they would provide “some relief.” to pupil from inflation.
“I believe that this is insufficient,” he remarked, noting that there were high hopes for further respite for the populace from the present state of the economy. He declared that the administration will work to further lower inflation, encourage investment and entrepreneurship, and give young people in the nation access to education.
“I don’t think lamenting the past will solve anything; instead, we should take a lesson from its errors about what we lost in the past and how we can make up for those mistakes to bring Pakistan back to its former status.”
He declared that “I can assure you very soon that stage will come of which Quaid-i-Azam and all those who migrated during partition dreamt” if the whole country chose to set aside personal ego and interest in the goal of helping the impoverished.
He stated that investment promises had been made and that the administration had created a plan to capitalize on and carry out the agreements, mentioning his recent travels to China and the Middle East.
Prior to any foreign investment, the premier stated that the climate needed to be favorable for local investment.
The prime minister promised that the future program would ideally be the last in the history of the country after the country carefully adhered to a likely impending program with the International Monetary Fund and the government met its goals.
“Then, in the race for progress, we will stand on our own two feet and leave our neighbors behind.”
According to PM Shehbaz, China would teach 300,000 Pakistani students in information technology each year and will further develop the industry in the nation.
He stated that in order to make the industrial and export sectors more competitive, power costs were lowered for them in a “historic step and quantum jump” that will lessen the Rs200 billion load that now falls on them.
He said that the Pakistan Stock Exchange’s recent surge to an all-time high of 77,000 points was more evidence of the government’s newly announced federal budget. He said, “This indicates that trade and business associations have approved the budget.”
According to PM Shehbaz, the government has made the decision to “set new records” for IT exports while also advancing the agricultural sector.
The prime minister warned that there would be no “easy path” and cited historical examples to illustrate how obstacles always arise to thwart national growth.
“Every terrorist who spreads chaos and is busy in running off investment from the country,” he claimed, along with smugglers, profiteers, hoarders, tax thieves, ineffective state departments, indolent state employees, those who mistreated martyrs, and those who sow political instability, were the enemies of the nation’s advancement.
