Minister for steps to curtail expenses

LAHORE:Punjab Minister for Communication & Works Sardar Muhammad Asif Nakai has said: “We have to cut down our expenses and lessen the burden on our economy.”

All avenues for expense curtailment and resource generation must be explored, he added. He expressed these views while addressing the Austerity Committee’s 2nd meeting of the financial year 2019-20 at the Committee Room of Finance Department, Civil Secretariat here on Thursday.

Minister for Finance Makhdum Hashim Jawan Bakht, Minister for Labour & Human Resource Ansar Majeed Khan, Minister for Excise, Taxation & Narcotics Control Hafiz Mumtaz Ahmed, Secretary Finance Abdullah Sumbal, Additional Secretary Finance Neelam Ifzal and representatives from other departments concerned attended the meeting. Asif Nakai said the government has adopted the austerity policy and imposed the restrictions on discretionary grants, luxury vehicles, protocol and unnecessary staff in order to lessen the burden on the provincial economy.

Different agendas of Higher Education Department, Primary & Secondary Health Care Department, I&C, Labour & Human Resource Department and other departments were discussed at length and after careful consideration the committee approved them as well.

Auditions for Voice of Alhamra on 14th: To showcase the talent of singing in the field of music, Lahore Arts Council is planning to organise a standard music competition titled “Voice of Alhamra". Youth between the ages of 15 to 25 will be able to participate in the competition. Auditions for “Voice of Alhamra” will be held on October 14, while the semi-final will be on October 16 and the final of the competition will be held on October 17. Winners of the competition will be given cash prizes and shields.

Executive Director Lahore Arts Council, Ather Ali Khan, said that Pakistani youth are very rich in countless capacities. He stated that for the encouragement of the young singers, Alhamra is going to organise "Voice of Alhamra", in which the singers will not only be able to win the cash prizes but will also find immense opportunities for their future in the field of music. He said that ‘our prime destination is prosperous Pakistan for our future generation’. It is a matter of pride for us that our youth are highlighting the name of our beloved Pakistan around the world. Merit and transparency will be the top priority in this competition, he added.