Thirty Five MPAs Attend Absorbing PIPS-Subai Pre Budget Seminar.

May 18, 2017 MEMBERS, SEMINARS & WORKSHOPS

Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services organized a Pre-Budget Seminar for the Honorable Members of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh in the provincial capital on May 18, 2017. The event began with the recitation of the Holy Quran and Naat e Rasool e Maqbool (SAW).

On behalf of the President PIPS BoG/Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Executive Director PIPS, Mr Zafar Ullah Khan, welcomed the participants and thanked the Honorable Speaker of Provincial Assembly of Sindh, Agha Siraj Khan Durrani, for extending his patronage to the event by acting as the guest of honor during the inaugural session. It was followed by remarks by Ms Dona Bugby-Smith, Team Leader, Subai EU Project which collaborated with PIPS in making the event successful. Honorable Members of the Provincial Assembly delivered keynote speeches on Annual Budget during session one. The pre-budget seminar was attended by 35 Members of Provincial Assembly and 23 functionaries and experts.

Dr Waseem Shahid Malik, Associate Professor and SBP Hon. Chair, University of Balochistan, underscored “Key economic challenges facing Pakistan’s economy with special focus on Provincial economy of Sindh” during the second session. The challenges and opportunities regarding National Finance Commission for Sindh came under limelight during third session which was led by Dr Kaiser Bengali, Renowned Economist and Member National Finance Commission. Additional Director PIPS, Mr Haider Abbas, shared tips for reading and analyzing budget document. Mr Tarique Hussain Tunio, Commissioner Sindh Revenue Board, gave a detailed presentation on “Revenue generation by Sindh province.” He highlighted a number of key challenges and opportunities in this regard. During the final session, Ms Mahnaz Rahman, Resident Director Aurat Foundation in Karachi, presented an overview of social sector allocation and outcomes with regard to Gender-based budgeting.

The series of absorbing session concluded with highly interactive Q&A session. Mr. Muhammad Rizwan Manzoor, Research Officer PIPS, moderated the seminar which ended with vote of thanks to the worthy participants.

On the direction of the Chairman Senate/President PIPS Board of Governors, the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), has implemented a comprehensive set of measures aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline, operational efficiency, and responsible utilization of public resources, on the same lines as notified and adopted by the Senate and National Assembly Secretariats.

Under the new measures, the Institute has adopted a four-day working week (Monday to Thursday), while introducing a hybrid working model whereby 50% of staff will perform duties from the office and 50% will work remotely on a rotational basis. Employees working from home will remain fully accessible through digital communication platforms and may be required to report to the office on short notice, ensuring uninterrupted institutional functioning.

Significant steps have also been taken to promote energy conservation. These include a target of achieving up to 70% reduction in energy consumption through minimizing unnecessary use of electricity and ensuring that official meetings, trainings, and events are scheduled during daylight hours. Foreign tours are banned and international meetings are being held virtually.

In the transport section, PIPS has introduced strict measures to curtail expenditure and 70% official vehicles have been grounded as part of this initiative.

As part of broader austerity efforts, 20% reduction has been imposed on the non-ERE budget for the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The officers drawing a monthly salary of PKR 300,000 or more, shall surrendered two days salary or 5% to 30% salary on gross as per Federal Government decision.

The Institute has also discontinued all non-essential procurements with immediate effect. Official functions such as dinners and receptions will not be hosted, except in the case of visiting foreign delegations, and even then, strictly in accordance with austerity protocols.

These measures have been implemented with immediate effect and will remain in force until further orders.

Under the guidance of President PIPS Board of Governors, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, PIPS remains fully committed to maintaining its core functions of parliamentary support, capacity building, and research while contributing proactively to national austerity and sustainability goals.

Thirty Five MPAs Attend Absorbing PIPS-Subai Pre Budget Seminar.

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