ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, has said that the government is planning to shut down or privatize state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-strategic ministries under its austerity measures.
The minister speaking to a private TV Channel said this move will not only relieve the government of a significant burden but also ensure a focus on good governance.
Sheikh went on to say that the government was looking at multiple SOEs and considering whether to privatize them or completely close them. “These institutions, for the most part, generate losses and perform poorly,” he said. “They bring no benefit and people aren’t satisfied with their service.”
He said the government was holding talks related to all federal institutions, with an aim to privatize most of them.
Asked about which institutions and ministries would be abolished, Sheikh provided no names but stressed they would be either closed or merged with other ministries.
He added the federal government needs to focus on good governance, so it will only control those institutions that serve a strategic purpose.
The minister stated that the measures intend to ensure lower expenditures, saying that the government has recently decided to stop offering jobs as well.
The minister further said that in addition to banning new hirings, serving government officials will be barred from purchasing new cars and will be required to cover their own utility bills.
“These are stringent measures necessary to maximize savings while reducing expenditures,” Sheikh reiterated.
On Friday, the Ministry for Industries and Production (MoIP) secretary said that the government was considering closing all utility stores across the country, as part of the rightsizing of federal government ministries, and institutions working under them.
The Utility Stores Corporation (USC), although being run inefficiently, provides lifelines to millions of low-income Pakistanis in the form of subsidized grocery items.
However, on Saturday, Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain rejected the reports that the utility stores were being closed, insisting that the government was planning to “restructure” the organization.
