Austerity measures: ‘Country needs to cut down spending’

The ministers will present monthly reports on the performances of the departments under them, says Sharif.

LAHORE:

Former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif on Sunday said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz governments in the Centre and in the Punjab would practice austerity.

In his address to provincial assembly on Sunday, the chief minister-to-be said a country like Pakistan could not afford waste.

He said their government had not spent a ‘penny in the name of secret funds.’ His colleagues, he said, had paid for their foreign visits and cut their salaries following the flood.

Shahbaz Sharif said that PML-N’s cabinet would not be a large one.

He said only those keen to serve the public would be a part of it.

He said the ministers would present monthly reports on the performances of the departments under them.

Sharif said he would be subject to accountability by colleagues.

He said prime-minister-to-be Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was a visionary leader who deeply cared about national interests.

Sharif said he hoped that other political leaders would follow Nawaz Sharif and help steer the country out of its political and economic problems.

He said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz governments and their allies would promote a new political culture of understanding and harmony.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2013.