Islamabad: Federal Law Minister Azam Nazir Tarar reveals state-owned enterprises are in losses running into hundreds of billions of rupees each year.
While participating in the Senate session, the minister pledged that the government’s primary function is to encourage business rather than compete with it. ”Now the government is too much into the business, which is not the role of the government,” he said.
He went further to elaborate on some of the recent governmental reorganizations carried out: the Narcotics Division has been moved to the Ministry of Interior, and Aviation to the Ministry of Defense. Further, the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and the Public Works Department (PWD) have also been abolished.
Regarding the issue of workforce restructuring, Tarar said that the employees who have served the company for tenure of service will be given an option to take early retirement if needed. He also declared the financial rewards to be given to the employees with the remaining working experience up to seven years. “For others, a surplus pool option has been introduced.” That is why right-sizing is not aimed at sounding people, but at achieving efficiency within the framework of the law,” he stressed.
The minister said that nobody will be dismissed unlawfully. “We are including the following statement in this memo: Other organizational changes discussed include: We are restructuring a few departments and practicing strict legal and ethical guidelines among them,” he said further.
The proposed measure to rationalize the activities of government will go a long way in ensuring that.
