Govt cuts down fuel allowances, newspaper subscriptions of officials

ISLAMABAD, July 8: With the country facing a major cash crunch, the federal government has notified a set of new austerity measures apart from notifying a new austerity committee to help further reduce its expenses. According to the notice, issued by the Finance Division’s Expenditure Wing on Thursday, July 7, the new austerity measures were notified for the fiscal year 2022-23. Per the notice, the government stressed the need to take extraordinary measures to “conserve resources” and for “rational utilization of public money besides curtailing expenditure to reduce the fiscal deficit.” In this regard, a complete ban was imposed on the purchase of all types of vehicles from the current and development budget. The exception to the rule was the purchase of utility
vehicles such as ambulances, buses for educational institutions, vehicles for managing solid waste and other such vehicles. A freeze was also ordered on the creation of new posts in departments. However, new posts required for development projects were allowed. Treatment abroad at government expenses was also banned. Appointment of contingent paid and daily-wage staff was also stopped, except for development projects. Purchasing office furniture, except for development projects has also been halted. Similarly, the purchase of machinery and equipment such as air conditioners, fridges, microwaves and even photocopiers have been banned. As announced previously, foreign tours of government functionaries – where paid by the government – have also been stopped. The exception was for trips where visits are obligatory. All official lunches, dinners and even hi-teas have been barred. The exception being entertainment for foreign delegations. In hopes to save every penny, even subscriptions to periodicals, magazines, newspapers etc have also been banned. Further, the notice directed the principal accounting officer to cut down on utility bills by 10%. Moreover, it was directed to reduce petroleum products’ entitlement to government functionaries by 30%. The government suggested that travel can be curtailed by adopting the usage of Zoom calls or video conferencing. Vacant, redundant and non-productive posts will be abolished. -NNI