To reduce public spending and maintain fiscal responsibility, the National Austerity Committee (NAC) has advocated reducing government employees’ salaries and benefits by 10% and lawmakers’ salaries and benefits by 15% through June 2024.
The NAC’s proposal also called for taking back several plots from judges, judges’ courts, civil and military bureaucracy, and other powerful groups in society.
The News reported that all of the plots sold at bargain rates would be repossessed and auctioned off to pay off the mounting national debt.
Additionally, it has advocated the placement of pre-paid metres nationwide in the gas and electricity sectors.
The Ministry of Finance has been tasked by the NAC to determine the financial implications of each of its suggestions before attaching them to the report’s final draught.
If implemented in its true text and spirit, the NAC plan might save the national exchequer money annually in the range of Rs. 500 billion to Rs. 1,000 billion, according to rough and preliminary calculations.
The NAC has also advised outlawing overseas travel, saying that only required travel should be permitted with the approval of the appropriate government.
All levels of government should implement an e-procurement system, according to its recommendations.
The NAC has suggested, among other things, that the federal cabinet should consist of no more than 30 people. Other federal cabinet members ought to labour for free in the event of any pressure.
It remains to be seen how the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which recently increased funding for the contentious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Achievement Program from Rs68 billion to Rs89 billion for the current fiscal year, will adopt these suggestions.
