Curbs on lavish spending on renovation/refurnishing: residence allocation to ministers banned

Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has imposed a ban on allocation of residence in the name of a Cabinet member. Instead, the allocations will be made to ministries to put on a cap on requests for renovation and refurnishing of their residences, sources in Industries Ministry told Business Recorder here on Wednesday.
The Prime Minister had received numerous complaints that huge amounts were being spent on renovating and refurnishing residences. A serious complaint had come to light that one of Prime Minister's Advisors, who has since been promoted to Minister, spent a large amount on renovation of his official residence. Additionally, he provided a hefty salary, from the public exchequer, to two of his blue-eyed employees.
According to sources, the Prime Minister was apprised that Ministries/Divisions were forced to provide funds for meeting the renovation and refurnishing costs on official residence of their ministers. On the same pattern, the Cabinet in its November 5 meeting had decided that accommodation in Parliament Lodges should be allotted in the name of constituencies, and not the incumbents.
The Prime Minister is also of the view that to maintain congeniality and mutual understanding between a minister and a minister of state, it would be advisable and expedient that a well-defined division of work is decided between the two.
The Prime Minister informed the Cabinet that federal ministers and ministers of state "are not from the same province, so that there is no conflict of interests". The Prime Minister, in his opening remarks, also stated that with the elected committees in place in both Houses, the Parliament was fully equipped to pursue its business.
The ministers should now undertake visits to their constituencies to establish direct contact with the electorates. Party offices and Ministry of Inter Provincial Co-ordination may be approached for facilitation and organising meetings. The Prime Minister had emphasised that the profiles of poor people be expeditiously completed so that Benazir Income Support Programme (BISF) may be commenced.
He said that directives had been issued for release of funds for approved programmes of local governments. Sources said that the Prime Minister also stated that he had issued guidelines concerning tours abroad, and urged strict compliance. Foreign tours must now be undertaken only with his prior approval, so as to ensure that ministers are available for Cabinet meetings. Sponsored tours will, for the time being, be decided as per existing instructions, he added.
He further said that ministers should candidly offer themselves for accountability. Presence in Parliament, especially during Question Hour, must be ensured so that performance of the government can be adequately projected before the public. Question Hour was stated to be the litmus test of the government. In this context, the Prime Minister referred to the example personally set by him by attending all question-answer sessions of National Assembly.
The Prime Minister also took exception to news stories about the size of the Cabinet, and urged them to effectively respond to these malicious stories by pointing out that the size of the Cabinet did not involve extra burden on national exchequer because a minister gets less pay as compared to an MNA/Senator.