Minister vows to carry forward reforms agenda

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin has vowed to carry forward a comprehensive reform agenda for bringing the much-needed changes in the public sector, a statement issued by the Finance Ministry said.

During a meeting with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Institutional Reforms and Austerity Dr Ishrat Husain, the minister acknowledged his valuable contribution in spearheading the reform process, it added.

The meeting was convened to review the progress on institutional reforms in the public sector.

Tarin commended the efforts of the adviser for categorisation of the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) through triage and drawing up holistic proposals for restructuring and strengthening operations after robust engagement and consultation with all the relevant stakeholders.

Husain outlined the steps taken for the reorganisation of the federal government entities into three broad categories with a view to bring in good governance, transparency, operational sustainability and improved human resource management.

The rules of business were amended to incorporate new definition of autonomous bodies and SROs were updated to clarify the powers and functions of such bodies, he said.

The adviser also underlined the significance of e-governance, as ministries have switched over to the new version of e-office.

Training was imparted for electronic submission of summaries to the prime minister, Cabinet and various committees.

The concept of performance agreements has been introduced to evaluate performance of the ministries against the set goals and objectives, he added.

The adviser thanked the finance minister for the full support and facilitation extended by the Finance Division.