PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed all federal ministries and divisions to strictly adhere to the “war austerity plan”, declaring that all government departments would undergo third-party audits to assess whether the plan was being implemented in its true spirit. Chairing a meeting held to review the plan, he approved a four-day workweek, declaring Friday an additional weekly holiday as part of a broader strategy to conserve energy and reduce expenditure.
The continued focus on austerity means the Government is determined to ensure its plan yields the intended results. Based on the bitter experience of the past when such plans were openly flouted through different tactics, the Prime Minister has come out with the idea of third party audit, a mechanism, if implemented vigorously, will serve as a deterrent against violations. In a similar move, he directed the federal ministries, divisions and institutions to send photos of the vehicles, taken off the road under the austerity policy, to the cabinet division. In addition, a special committee, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, would oversee implementation of the measures by reviewing and filing progress reports to the government on a daily basis. National preparedness was necessary in view of an uncertain regional security situation and this should also mean involvement of the private sector and the business community in efforts to conserve energy. At the same time, the Government should reverse its hasty decision to increase prices of oil by Rs.55 a litre as the prices have started declining due to the apparent slow down of the war. However, remarks of the Petroleum Minister that the Government will absorb future increases in oil prices in the international market, in a way, also mean the authorities have no intention to pass on the relief to the people. This would be double injustice.
