Current obsolete system bound to go: Shehbaz

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday asserted determinedly that the government will change the current obsolete system, with the FBR and power sector reforms atop its list of priorities. He said this while chairing the federal cabinet meeting here.

In a related development, the petrol price in the country has been slashed by Rs8.47 per litre for the next fortnight, the federal government announced. The newly revised petrol price would be Rs260.96 per litre from the earlier Rs269.43.

Earlier while chairing a cabinet meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the initiatives taken by the government to improve various sectors, including the power sector, were now yielding positive results. He said reforms in the FBR were inevitable to enhance tax collection and develop the country.

The premier said the FBR could be revitalized by cutting the red tape, streamlining routine paperwork and digitizing the entire process. The cabinet approved the regularisation of federal government teachers in light of the Supreme Court decision.

On the recommendation of the Privatization Commission, the cabinet approved an increase in the strength of the Privatization Board from eight to 11 members. Three women will also be the board members, as the prime minister has directed more female representation in keyboards of the country.

In light of the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on August 2, the cabinet directed an uninterrupted supply of gas to the fertilizer industry to prevent fertilizer import.

The cabinet also directed the departments concerned to prevent an increase in the prices of urea.

The meeting remarked that agriculture was the backbone of the country and reduction in agricultural inputs should be ensured to bring down the per-acre cost for farmers.

Shehbaz also sought a comprehensive plan on the privatization of SOEs, whose denationalization has already been approved.

The meeting approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Guatemala and Ecuador on political consultation. Addressing the meeting, the prime minister directed the ministries to do away with the routine delays, particularly with regard to the movement of files.

Noting that the ministers had been given powers, he asked them to hire consultants to move towards paperless work. “Business, as usual, will not work now and we will have to go for innovative steps,” he said.

The prime minister regretted the stay orders obtained by BS-22 officers of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against their transfers. “I am not familiar with any of them and the transfers were made after seeing their reports,” he said.

The premier pointed out that the officials were not made OSD, rather they were given less important tasks.

Shehbaz said he immediately asked the law minister and attorney general to look into the matter and by the grace of Allah Almighty, the stay orders were vacated.

“This is called proactive approach. Had the issue been not followed actively, the transferred officers would have returned to their previous posts,” he said.

The prime minister emphasized a reduction in the cost of production for the revival of industry and agriculture. He also paid glowing tribute to Arshad Nadeem for winning a gold medal in the javelin throw at the Paris Olympics after 40 years.

Talking about the Independence Day celebrations, Shehbaz said the nation will celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner. “On this day, we will reaffirm our pledge to remain steadfast and serve the country with utmost devotion and dedication,” said the premier.

The cabinet also offered Fateha for the departed souls of Deputy Commissioner Panjgur Zakir Baloch and Shaheed Lieutenant Uzair Mehmood Malik for sacrificing their lives for the country.

Meanwhile, talking to the newly appointed chairmen and members of the board of directors of Lesco (Lahore Electric Supply Company), Mepco (Multan Electric Power Company), Fesco (Faisalabad Electric Supply Company), Iesco (Islamabad Electric Supply Company) and Hesco (Hazara Electric Supply Company), Shehbaz said the electric power distribution companies (Discos) were highly inefficient and corrupt needing correction.

More importantly, he said Rs550 billion worth of power was stolen with the connivance of unscrupulous elements in the distribution companies.

The prime minister said the high electricity tariffs had massively slowed down economic activities and made the lives of the common man miserable. “The government is on a high alert and is vigorously working out various options to bring the power tariff down to provide relief to the masses.”

He said new appointments had been made and the board chairmen and members were appointed purely on merit. He said no political nominees were appointed to the new boards, which would purge them of corruption, bad governance, inefficiencies and line losses.

“Constitution of new BODs is a first step towards implementation of reforms in the power sector,” said the premier.

He hoped that new boards of directors would steer the distribution companies out of woods and introduce efficiency, which would help reduce the tariff. He said the distribution companies were replete with bad governance and the new boards should focus on their digitization.

The premier said digitization was the sole solution to overcoming all wrongdoings in the Discos. He said the distribution companies’ functions would be outsourced and then fully privatized after implementation of reforms.

Under the new mechanism, the officials performing well will be rewarded while those failing to perform well will be downgraded and punished accordingly, he warned.

He also directed the Disco’s authorities to improve the customer service centres to the optimum level to facilitate consumers.

Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz approved a reduction in fuel prices on the eve of Independence Day, a statement issued by the Ministry of Information announced.

The petrol price has been slashed by Rs8.47 per litre for the next fortnight, mainly due to a drop in fuel prices in the global market.

According to the latest fuel prices, the petrol price has been cut from Rs269.43 to Rs260.96 per litre. The federal government also reduced the price of high-speed diesel (HSD) from Rs272.77 per litre to Rs266.07 per litre with a cut of Rs6.7.