Islamabad (Web Desk): Caretaker Minister for Finance Dr Shamshad Akhtar on Friday said that the government’s steps to stabilize economy are yielding positive results and the economy is performing well now.
She was addressing a news conference along with Caretaker Minister for Power and Energy Muhammad Ali and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi in Islamabad on Friday.
Giving details of the prevailing economic condition, the finance minister said that the consumer price index has shown a major decline which proves that we have come out of the difficult position.
She said the productive sector has also registered improvement while the Services Sector is vibrant.
"Consultations with the donor agencies are underway and we hope to get immediate fast flow in some sectors besides normal flow of funds," Shamshad Akhtar said, adding that the caretaker government is making its best efforts for a cumulative assistance of the World Bank up to $2 billion.
She said the position of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is also improving while the country's reserves are stable now. She said ongoing anti-smuggling drive has also helped to stable dollar position in the county.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Power and Energy, Muhammad Ali said the massive crackdown against power theft is yielding significant results. He said drive against power theft is not for a limited time period, but it will continue in future as well and we will expedite and expand its scope.
The minister said the government is working on a comprehensive plan to change the Board of Governors of the Distribution Companies. He said the CEOs of the DISCOs will also be reshuffled to improve their governance and capacity.
Muhammad Ali said steps are being taken to check electricity theft and pass-on minimum burden of the increased prices of the electricity bills to the consumers.
He said power sector has a total circular debt of Rs2500 billion while the circular debt of Gas Sector is Rs2900. He said we are making efforts to manage this huge circular debt.
The minister informed the media persons that the government is taking practical steps to ensure availability of gas in winter season. He said we are expediting the efforts for exploration of new oil and gas reserves as no significant attention was paid towards this sector during the past ten years.
Ali said that a central control room has been established in the Power Division to monitor the ongoing campaign against power theft.
Replying to a question, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi said it is commitment of the caretaker setup to fulfill all the requirements in terms of finances and security to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for holding elections in the country.