LAHORE: The Punjab Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) claimed on Sunday that the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government under the leadership of CM Usman Buzdar has cut down the CMO’s expenditures by over 60 percent as compared to the expenditures incurred during Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government led by Shehbaz Sharif.

“National resources were ruthlessly utilized in the name of CMO’s expenditures in 2017-18, the last tenure of PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif as the chief executive of the province. However, (incumbent) Punjab CM Usman Buzdar has set an example of austerity by significantly reducing the CMO’s expenditures from 2020-21,” claimed a spokesperson for the CMO.

Giving breakdown of the expenditures, the spokesperson said the CMO during the tenure of PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif from 2017 to 2018 had spent Rs 230.9 million while the PTI government under the leadership of CM Usman Buzdar spent merely Rs 140.3 million from 2020-21, reflecting a decrease of 61.18 percent.

The spokesperson said the PML-N government had spent Rs 40.2 million on maintenance of vehicles in 2017-18 while the Buzdar government spent only Rs 10.5 million under the same head in 2020-21. He alleged that Rs 90 million were spent by Shehbaz Sharif’s government in 2017-18 for entertainment and gifts while the PTI government spent only Rs 40.4 million.

The spokesperson further claimed that 372,000 litres of oil/diesel/petrol was used in CMO’s vehicles during the PML-N tenure which coasted Rs 5 million to the national exchequer. However, the Buzdar government has spent only Rs 2.7 million under this head, he added.

Commenting on the matter, Punjab CM Usman Buzdar claimed that the culture of luxurious expenditures has been “eliminated”. “The former governments mercilessly utilized the national exchequer but we are the custodian of every single penny of government resources. The elite and mafia together looted national resources in the name of security, constructing and repair of private residences. These practices have also been curbed,” he stressed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022