ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has directed economic think-tank to prepare a workable roadmap to make the subsidy system transparent, and whose implementation in phases, must ensure that the subsidies provided through various sectors reach the people who needed them the most.
A meeting on subsidies presided over by the Prime Minister, on Monday, directed the think tank to finalise the roadmap as early as possible, while keeping in view government priorities.
The Prime Minister reiterated that reforming the subsidy system had been one of the government priority areas, and added that the purpose of providing subsides from the government treasury had been to provide protection to the weaker segments of the society and promotion of social and cultural development.
The PM said that benefiting from the subsidy system by the undeserving people had not only been wastage of the taxpayers' money but also a waste of the rights of the deserving.
The PM wanted review of the entire subsidy system to ensure that it reaches to the deserving through a transparent system, and wanted his economic team to take advantage from the Ehsaas Programme data to provide subsidy to the poor and the needy people on electricity, gas as well as from the Utility Stores Corporation (USC).
On July 27, 2020, the government has appointed former secretary finance, Dr Waqar Masood Khan, as head of the newly-created "Subsidies Cell" for making the budgeted subsides as targeted and notification to this effect by the Finance Division read that the Prime Minister Imran Khan had appointed Dr Waqar Masood as head of the "Subsidies Cell" in the Ministry of Finance, and directed relevant officials of the Finance and their ministries/divisions dealing with the subject of subsidies to provide necessary assistance to the "Subsidies Cell".
Adviser on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said the cell set up would review the subsidies provided to every sector and submit recommendations for effectiveness of subsidies.
Sources claimed the PM had been concerned over the flow of subsidies to the undeserving segment of the society rather than those who needed them the most. Various proposals to provide direct and indirect subsidies to the different departments were discussed during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Adviser on Finance Abdul Razak Dawood Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Sania Nishtar, former Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood as well as former finance minister Shaukat Tarin, Ali Sultan Alana, Arif Habib, and Dr Ejaz Nabi, through a video link.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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