Cabinet committee recommends reducing 150,000 unfilled government positions.
The Government of Pakistan is considering a proposal for eliminating 150,000 vacant positions. In a recent meeting led by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, the Cabinet Committee on Institutional Reforms recommended several steps for right sizing the government ministries and departments. These include eliminating 150,000 vacant positions, stopping temporary hiring, and outsourcing services like cleaning and janitorial services. This would gradually reduce many jobs in lower grades (from 1 to 16).
The committee also suggested merging certain ministries, such as combining the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan with the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON). Additionally, the committee proposed closing 28 institutions, merging 12 others, and moving some ministries, like the Ministry of Privatisation, to different federal units.
The Prime Minister also asked the Ministry of Finance to oversee the cash balances of other federal ministries.
The Prime Minister emphasized that reducing government spending is a top priority. He instructed that these changes be approved by the federal Cabinet and that a detailed plan be created for implementing them. He also announced that he will personally oversee the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA), which will now be under the Prime Minister’s Office.
The meeting was attended by several federal ministers and senior officials including Federal Minister For Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for Economic affairs Ahad khan Cheema.
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