Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb expressed confidence on Tuesday in completing the rightsizing of 43 ministries and their 400 attached departments by June 30 of the current fiscal year to reduce expenditures and improve the efficiency of the government.

“During course of this fiscal year, before June 30, all of this process will be done, All 42 ministries, [as CAD has already been abolished] and their attached departments, their recommendations and implementation (will be done),” the mister said at a press conference while sharing the six-month performance of the High-powered Committee on Rightsizing of the Federal Government.

National Parliamentary Taskforce on Sustainable Development Goals Convener Bilal Azhar Kayani and Ambassador at Large Dr Salman Ahmad, who is heading the implementation committee, accompanied the minister at the event.

While briefing the journalists, the minister said, 60% of the vacant regular posts (that have not come in payroll), which stood at 150,000, would be abolished or declared as dying posts, creating a real a real financial impact. “All is being done after proper ratification from the federal cabinet.”

The committee, he said, also decided to outsource general non-course services including cleaning, plumbing and gardening to bring efficiency. The number of contingency posts would also be reduced, the finance minister added.

He said it has also been decided that the finance ministry would have live visibility on the cash balances of all government entities.

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“It cannot happen that at one side we are borrowing and on other government departments have idle cash balances,” Aurangzeb said and added that it has nothing to do with people, but to improve efficiency, adding it was being implemented in all ministries.

Under Wave-1, the finance minister stated that six ministries including Kashmir Affair and Gilgit Baltistan, SAFRON; Information Technology and Telecom; Industries and Production; National Health Services Regulations and Coordination; Capital Development Authority (CAD) were processed.

The minister said the committee has decided to merge the ministries of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON whereas CAD was abolished. There were 80 entities associated with such ministries and they have been reduced to 40.