Bilawal pledges to eliminate 17 federal ministries if PPP voted into power

Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), pledged on Monday to eliminate 17 federal ministries if his party secures victory in the general elections. This measure aims to save taxpayers a sum of “Rs300 billion.”

Addressing a public gathering in Nawabshah, Bilawal said the 17 federal ministries should have been devolved to provinces after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, Geo News reported.

The leader of the PPP stated that an amount of Rs300 billion was allocated for the ministries, and the government provided a subsidy of Rs1,500 billion to the ‘elite’ individuals in different sectors, such as energy and fertilizers.

Bilawal said his party would end the subsidy for elites to provide funds to labourers and farmers through cards, he said.

On April 8, 2010, the 18th Constitutional Amendment was enacted, leading to the decentralization of numerous federal ministries and the transfer of powers to provinces.

Referring to the youth as the future of the nation, the PPP chief said old politicians are a thing of the past.
Bilawal said the country’s issues could be resolved by burying the politics of “hatred and division”.