PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s first working day in office reinforced his reputation as ‘work-alcoholic’ and a team leader who means business.
The meetings he held during the day and directives issued were reminiscent of his hard-work as Chief Minister of Punjab where he set such enviable standards of governance that put the province on an accelerated path of socio-economic progress and development.
Transparency, quality and speed were hallmarks of his Government and pursuance of these standards at the federal level is going to make a big difference.
There can be no two opinions that the economy of the country is on the downslide and, therefore, needs urgent attention so that a pragmatic approach is adopted to bring it back on track without putting more burden on the common man who is already suffering badly due to unbearable inflation.
With this in view, he had a comprehensive exchange of views with economic experts and decided, on Tuesday, to form a National Economic Council (NEC), comprising independent economic experts, to address the current economic situation and check inflation.
In view of the challenging economic situation, he directed forming medium and long-term policies and comprehensive policy options to overcome inflation.
Mindful of the woes of the people, the Prime Minister emphasized a reduction in the prices of daily-use commodities and essential items, particularly during Ramadan.
Shehbaz had a point when he pointed out during his interaction with journalists at a dinner that about a 1,800 points jump in one go in the Pakistan Stock Exchange and regaining of rupee value against the dollar by nine rupees in a day after his election was a feel good factor that reflected the sentiments of people.
It is hoped that the economic situation would start improving at a satisfactory rate once proposals are finalized in consultation with all stakeholders in all areas including agriculture, trade, investment and banking.
There is a big difference in the working of the previous and the incumbent government as was characterized by a directive given by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to run Metro from Peshawar Morr Islamabad to new Islamabad airport in just five days.
The work on this vital project was initiated by the PML(N) Government but it was not operationalized during the last three and a half years despite the fact that it only needed finishing touches to facilitate air travellers.
This, together with many other CPEC and other developmental projects, remained victims of political expediencies and malice and one hopes work on all of them would resume with full speed so that people benefit from their intended benefits.
Another important decision taken by the new PM was abolition of two-day weekend and readjustment of office working hours, sending a clear message that ministries, departments and offices will have to work hard and deliver.
We have all along been emphasizing in these columns that there was absolutely no justification for two weekly holidays in a country like Pakistan and a six-day week would surely help improve productivity and output.
Sluggish attitude and non-punctuality are also among the main reasons affecting the overall performance of the bureaucracy but Shehbaz Sharif sent a loud and clear message to government employees by reaching his office early in the morning.
Such a routine would ensure that cabinet members, secretaries and heads of different departments and institutions also show an extreme sense of punctuality, which will have a stimulating effect on their juniors.
Shehbaz would surely be presiding over a highly sensitive coalition government requiring extreme caution to ensure harmonious working of his administration.
However, being a reconciliatory, he never feels shy of talking to others and on Monday and Tuesday as well he held consultations with his colleagues in other parties on cabinet formation and other issues.
The coalition partners whether big or small will have to realize that they have no chance to commit blunders and their success is deeply linked to the selfless pursuit of service to the people and the country.
The pressure being built by the ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan might serve as a Sword of Damocles to keep them on their toes.
It is also time that the two major parties – PML(N) and PPP – show grace in accommodating smaller parties to give them a real sense of participation in running affairs of the country.
