Finance Minister Directs Clear Assessment of Permanent Savings From Rightsizing

Officials briefed the meeting on progress made across different stages of the rightsizing process, which is being carried out in a total of eight phases.

According to the briefing, recommendations covering the first four phases have largely moved forward following approval by the federal cabinet. Follow-up work is continuing to monitor implementation and further progress on these recommendations.

Officials said recommendations related to the fifth and sixth phases have also been prepared and forwarded to the relevant authorities, while work on the seventh and eighth phases is currently underway.

The meeting also reviewed proposals concerning the size of government institutions, expenditure and the effective use of available resources. Participants stressed the need to reassess the functions and responsibilities of government institutions.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb directed authorities to move the rightsizing process beyond recommendations and ensure decisive implementation.

He said the primary objective of rightsizing was to improve the efficiency of government operations, reduce unnecessary expenditure and enhance productivity and service delivery.

The finance minister also directed authorities to promote digitalisation in government operations and ensure more effective use of available resources.

Muhammad Aurangzeb specifically instructed officials to determine the permanent savings generated through rightsizing so that the financial benefits of the reform process could be accurately assessed.

He said the size of an institution or the number of employees should not be considered the sole measure of its performance. Instead, institutional efficiency and the quality of services provided to the public should remain the key indicators.

The meeting also discussed reviewing all functions currently being performed by the federal government. It was proposed that government resources should be focused on essential and core state functions to reduce unnecessary expenditure and improve resource utilisation.

Officials agreed to continue efforts to accelerate the implementation of rightsizing recommendations, institutional reforms and the remaining phases of the process.