ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Wednesday approved in principle the regularisation of over 4,000 Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) employees who have served for more than nine months, and decided to regularise others after they have completed this prescribed service length. Syed Sumsam Bukhari, minister of state for information, told reporters after the meeting that the cabinet was also briefed on the status of wheat, flour and sugar stocks. He said the prime minister had directed the authorities to stabilise the prices of these essentials.
He said the cabinet also considered a report on the affairs of the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) and the case for its corporatisation and restructuring. The cabinet was told that the bank’s current, negative net worth was Rs 28.17 billion, while total deposits stood at Rs 3.836 billion. It was decided that those responsible for the bank’s losses, imprudent lending and loan waivers would be held accountable. A committee – headed by the minister for law and justice and including representatives of the State Bank of Pakistan, an independent banker and an auditor – was formed to scrutinise a random sample of written-off loans to establish their propriety.
A committee of the ministers for finance and revenue, law and justice, and industries and production recommended restructuring IDBP as Industrial Development Bank Limited (IDBL). The meeting also ratified the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation. The ratified decisions include adequate government representation on the boards of privatised entities. Under a new policy, 12 percent shares would be reserved for workers of the privatised entities.
The cabinet also ratified the decisions made by the ECC on December 15. In a bid to undertake scientific, technological and socio-economic research on climate change, the cabinet approved a proposal to establish the ‘Global Change Impact Studies Centre’ as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Environment.
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