Ishaq Dar re-affirms the govt’s commitment to implementation of the Privatization Programme with transparency, efficiency & whole of govt approach

ISLAMABAD, August 02 (SABAH): Meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatization (CCOP) was held on Friday with the Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar in chair.

The meeting was also attended by other members of the Committee including the Finance Minister, Minister for Privatization, Minister for Commerce, Minister for Power, Minister for Industries & Production, Minister of State Finance and Revenue besides Federal Secretaries of various Ministries and Division.

CCOP was presented with a phased Privatization Programme (2024-29) by the Ministry of Privatization, based on the recommendations of PC Board, in terms of Section 5(b) of the Privatisation Commission Ordinance 2000. The CCOP recommended that priority shall be accorded to reducing Federal Footprint in commercial space and limiting it to the Strategic and Essential SOEs only. CCOP emphasized that even SOEs making profits shall also be considered for privatization. After deliberating on the privatization policy guidelines, CCOP considered 84 SOEs reflected in the Federal Footprint State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Consolidated Report FY2020-22 in detail in light of SOE Act and Policy.

CCOP, while approving 24 entities for the Privatization Programme (2024-29), decided that inclusion of other SOEs in privatization programme will be taken upon completion of the review by the Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises (CCoSoEs) regarding categorization of Strategic/Essential SOEs. The entities not categorized as strategic or essential will be placed before CCOP for decision regarding their inclusion in the Programme.

CCOP also considered the proposal for transfer of shares of OGDCL lying with Privatization Commission to Sovereign Wealth Fund or Ministry of Energy (Petroleum Division). It was decided that status-quo may be maintained for the time being.

In addition, the CCOP granted approval for the Budget Estimates of the Commission for the fiscal year 2024-25, amounting to Rs. 8,169 million.

The Chairman while concluding the meeting re-affirmed the government’s commitment to implementation of the Privatization Programme with transparency, efficiency and whole of government approach. He emphasized the importance of support and cooperation from all stakeholders in implementation of the programme.