ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed that tax pilferages such as the leakage of almost Rs1.2 trillion in customs duty at the Karachi Port must be plugged to use these resources for relief, development and running the civil government, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.
At a recent Cabinet meeting, the prime minister observed that the government was mindful of the problems being faced by the common man as a result of the increase in prices of daily items, upward revision in electricity charges, and higher taxation.
He apprised the Cabinet that Rs50 billion had been diverted from the development budget to provide relief to low income protected customers in the wake of the price hike and increased electricity tariffs.
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The prime minister also directed the Ministry of Finance to create fiscal space through additional measures so that some more relief could be provided to the general public in the coming months.
He said tax pilferages such as the leakage of almost Rs1,200 billion in customs duty at the Karachi Port must be plugged, so that these resources could be used for relief, development and even running the civil government, which stood at Rs890 billion. The prime minister emphasised that all government institutions must work together to ensure that the IMF programme being agreed would be Pakistan’s last programme.
The prime minister expressed his confidence that the ongoing structural reforms relating to taxation, energy, financial management and public sector enterprises will reduce the overall federal expenditure and size of government, thereby taking the country in the right direction.
The prime minister said that he is personally overseeing the process of downsizing and rightsizing in the government and shall not tolerate any delays in meeting the stipulated timelines.
It was mentioned that the “Sindh Infrastructure Development Company” had been renamed as the “Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company”, which could serve as a viable alternative to the PWD. It was further pointed out that even though the shipping sector had a vast potential, entities such as Pakistan National Shipping Corporation were continued to be a heavy liability on Government of Pakistan.
It was stated that such underperforming entities were not only causing a huge loss to the national exchequer but also depriving other development projects of resources and investment, especially in critical areas such as health, education, infrastructure and water.
Taking note of economic performance, the prime minister directed the Minister for Commerce to formulate a comprehensive plan to achieve an export target of $60 billion and also directed the Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication to enhance IT exports to $25 billion dollars over the next three years.
Appreciating the performance of the Minister for Energy, Minister for Finance, Minister for Economic Affairs, Chief Minister Balochistan and Secretary Power Division, the prime minister apprised the Cabinet that the government had made significant progress by initiating solarization of 28,000 tubewells in Balochistan and hoped that gradual conversion of all tubewells to solar energy would provide significant relief to farmers and save billions of dollars in foreign exchange for Pakistan.
The Cabinet was further informed that programmes offering thousands of scholarships were also being introduced for higher studies abroad, and that students belonging to the less developed areas of the country would be given priority.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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