ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that reducing the price of electricity is very important for growth, adding that the matter will be taken up with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet, he noted that reducing power tariff is crucial for the development of industries and agriculture. He mentioned that two or three options are being considered in this regard.
“Last week, a meeting was held to reduce the electricity tariff, in which options were discussed to reduce the tariff in collaboration with the provinces. A comprehensive meeting will be held again this week to discuss the options available.”
According to Geo News sources, the government is working on various options to reduce electricity tariffs, aiming to cut prices by up to Rs10 per unit.
The government’s first option involves negotiating with independent power producers (IPPs) to pass on the benefits to the public. By terminating agreements with five IPPs, the government is projected to save a total of Rs411 billion, with an annual saving of Rs70 billion.
Sources within the Ministry of Energy revealed that a tariff revision for eight bagasse-based power plants would save Rs238 billion, equating to an annual saving of Rs8.83 billion. Additionally, the termination or modification of contracts with 16 more IPPs would result in a further benefit of Rs481 billion.
These savings would be passed on to consumers in the form of reduced electricity costs. The sources further said that the federal government is also considering an extension of the Winter Electricity Relief Package, as well as proposals to reduce taxes on electricity bills.
Addressing the cabinet, the prime minister said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had decided to rollover the $2 billion dollars payment due on Pakistan this month.
He mentioned that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan conveyed this decision to him during a one-on-one meeting in Rahim Yar Khan.
“During one-on-one meeting, the UAE president with pleasure said that two billion dollars are due to be paid by Pakistan this month and he has decided the extend it,” he said.
Shehbaz told the federal cabinet the UAE president himself proposed to rollover $2 billion payment. “Decision of the UAE president to defer payment of two billion dollars is good omen for Pakistan’s economy, and we are thankful to him,” he said.
The prime minister stated that his meeting with the UAE president focused on strengthening bilateral relations and promoting investment.
He mentioned that the UAE president while referring to the historic fraternal ties between the two countries, expressed commitment to investing in Pakistan, assuring that his country would not fall behind in this regard.
“I told the UAE president that our deputy prime minister is leading Pakistan’s team and he said that we should move forward swiftly on already agreed decisions regarding investments,” the premier said.
It may be pointed out here that friendly countries like China, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had helped Pakistan through financial assurance, to secure the much-needed (IMF) loan programme. The IMF had conditioned releasing funds to Pakistan to the debt rollover by friendly countries.
Shehbaz stated that the Indonesian president is also expected to visit Pakistan this month, adding that an agenda is being prepared for discussions with the visiting dignitary.
Saying that the two countries have brotherly relations, he mentioned that Pakistan could export halal meat and rice to Indonesia.
The prime minister expressed satisfaction over stability in economy, emphasising that with continued diligence and hard work, the country would be taken forward on the path of progress.
He described increase in textile exports as encouraging, reiterating that the country should focus on export-led growth and efforts be made for increasing exports from non-traditional sources as well.
The prime minister also apprised the cabinet of the government’s steps against the nefarious business of human trafficking. He said this has been going on for years. Hundreds of Pakistanis have lost their lives in the past few years in the events that took place in Greece. The government is working relentlessly to prevent human trafficking.
“Human trafficking brings disgrace to the country. We’ll put an end to this abomination.”
The prime minister said that an incident took place in Kurram after the peace agreement, and the deputy commissioner was injured in the attack on the convoy. “This is a nefarious act to sabotage the peace agreement, which we’ll not allow to happen.” Meanwhile, the federal cabinet declared the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) infrastructure as critical and assigned it under the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA) to further protect revenue collector’s data. The cabinet took the decision on recommendation of the Revenue Division to further help protect FBR’s sensitive data from cyber-attacks, including hacking or any kind of illegal intervention.
On recommendation of the Aviation Division, the forum extended the temporary operating permit for weekly frequencies of Fly Dubai flights from Lahore and Islamabad to Dubai and vice versa from Jan 4 to Feb 3.
The meeting was briefed about public sector imports and exports of 11 ministries and divisions via Gwadar Port. Seeking comprehensive reports from all the ministries, the prime minister directed to ensure 60 percent of all public sector imports and exports via Gwadar Port without any discrimination.
The cabinet was briefed that 100 percent enforcement of e-office in 21 ministries and divisions has been ensured. It was further stated that the use of paper has been discontinued in the communication among all federal ministries and divisions since the first of this month. E-office is being used for all file movements and communications.
It was informed that the enforcement of e-office would not only save time but also benefit the national exchequer in terms of stationery and petrol. With the implementation of e-office, the processing time of summaries in the PM Office has now been reduced to a maximum of three days.
Besides, the forum exempted the procurement of refurbished chrome books from Public Procurement Regulatory Authority Ordinance Section 21-A. However, the prime minister instructed to ensure a third-party audit in the procurement of chrome books.
The cabinet consented the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Board of Investment and Shandong Ruyi Group of China for the establishment of textile parks. It also approved the signing of an MoU between the Diplomatic Academy of Serbia and the Foreign Service Academy of Pakistan.
It allowed the current 46 private haj operators to undertake arrangements for this year’s Haj. However, it instructed to take all court cases regarding the operators to their logical conclusion.