News
Thursday, April 12, 2012
PM seeks proposals for pro-people budget: Firdous* Information minister says government will discuss budget strategy next week
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani had sought proposals from all the coalition partners to make the upcoming budget pro-people.
The government will discuss its budget strategy at a special sitting of the cabinet next week.
Briefing the media on the cabinet's decisions, the minister said that the prime minister also directed the ministries of finance, water and power, and petroleum to submit a joint strategy to end load shedding. She said that all the proposals by coalition partners would be discussed along with the budget strategy paper prepared by the Ministry of Finance for the period 2012-13. The cabinet also prayed for the early recovery of the army officers and civilians trapped under snow in the Gayari Sector at Siachen, she said. The prime minister directed that all efforts should be made for early recovery and evacuation of the trapped people, she added.
“The cabinet discussed at length the budget strategy paper for the period 2012-13 and projections up till 2014-15. The strategy paper aims at accelerating growth while ensuring macro-economic stability and articulates guiding principles for the annual budget in order to achieve targets over the medium term,” the information minister said. “The prime minister said the budget will be prepared in the light of recommendation made by the people’s representatives. He also directed that an exclusive meeting of the cabinet should be convened to discuss budget related matters. The cabinet reviewed the implementation status of the cabinet’s decisions pertaining to religious affairs, revenue and science and technology divisions. The cabinet was informed that 87 percent, 79 percent and 78 percent decisions pertaining to religious affairs, revenue and acience and technology divisions respectively had been implemented. The remaining cabinet decisions pertaining to these divisions are in the process of implementation,” Firdous said.
"The cabinet considered and gave its approval for confirmation of the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation in its meeting held on March 2, 2012. Cabinet secretary briefed the cabinet about the Citizens Damage Compensation Programme (CDCP) going on in the flood-affected areas. The secretary informed that, so far, 1,700,000 families have already been paid through Watan Cards," said the minister.
She said that in the phase-I of compensation for flood-affected people, the eligibility criterion was the entitlement of the head of family for compensation. However, in the phase-II, the head of an affected household would be provided a compensation of Rs 40,000, she said. The cabinet was informed that international donors and development partners were highly satisfied with the progress so far made in alleviating the sufferings of flood-affected people.
"The prime minister directed the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) and all departments concerned to expedite the process of distributing Watan Cards to the flood-affected people of Balochistan and Sindh. In this regard, he directed all the stakeholders and provincial authorities to sort out the matter at the earliest" Firdous said.
The minister said the finance secretary briefed the cabinet about the Consumer Price Index (CPI) until April 5. She said the cabinet was informed that prices of 28 items, including tomato, potato and petroleum products, in the CPI had increased during the last week. However, prices of 16 items, including LPG, onions, eggs and garlic had decreased and prices of 15 items, including tea, firewood and salt remained stable. app
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk