Govt embarks on the path of rightsizing itself

ISLAMABAD: The government has begun rightsizing the federal government by seeking information from five ministries about their actual and revised budget for 2023-24 and budget for 2024-25 besides their segregated functions between federal and provincial based on federal legislative list latest by 12 July.

Sources said that ministries of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Industries and Production have been asked to treat the matter as urgent and the response may be ensured by 12th July 2024 for onward submission to the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister’s Office Institutional Reforms Cell in a letter to these ministries has been mandated to undertake a comprehensive exercise for right sizing of government to ensure productive and allocative efficiency. The Cell being part of Cabinet Division serves as a support unit in carrying out the assigned mandate of reforms and provides necessary secretarial support

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The prime minister has constituted the Committee on Rightsizing of the federal government with the ToRs: propose architecture for functions of the federal government that can be undertaken in private mode, ascertain functions requiring public finances which can be performed in private mode and, analyse whether remaining functions have appropriated and economical architecture corresponding to them; determine functions which are entirely provincial with no international “obligation and without affecting common market principal; recommend concrete plan with clear way forward and methodology along with ascertainment to safeguard assets, human resources and other ancillary issues; any other issue relevant to the scope of work assigned to the committee.

The committee in its 30 meeting convened on 5th July 2024, chaired by Minister for Finance and Revenue has decided to seek input from the ministries – IT and Telecommunication, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), Industries and Production (MoI&P) and Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination – on immediate basis latest by 12th July 2024 for further processing of the case.

The committee has sought from the ministries details of the budget including revised estimates for fiscal year 2023-24 and budget estimates for 2024-25 as well as list of all the assets owned by the ministry along-with appropriate market value and functions of the Division as per rules and business besides segregate functions between provincial functions and federal functions bases on federal legislative list as well as what is the justification (if any) for the functions being performed by the Division, etc.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024