Tag: Cut

  • Amazon to shut 8 Go stores to cut costs

    Amazon to shut 8 Go stores to cut costs

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    San Francisco: As part of its cost-cutting effort, Amazon plans to shut eight of its Go convenience stores in the US.

    According to CNBC, the tech giant will close two Go stores in New York City, two locations in Seattle, and four stores in San Francisco on April 1.

    In addition, the company said it will work to help affected employees secure other roles at the company.

    “Like any physical retailer, we periodically assess our portfolio of stores and make optimisation decisions along the way,” Amazon spokesperson Jessica Martin, was quoted as saying.

    “In this case, we’ve decided to close a small number of Amazon Go stores in Seattle, New York City, and San Francisco. We remain committed to the Amazon Go format, operate more than 20 Amazon Go stores across the US, and will continue to learn which locations and features resonate most with customers as we keep evolving our Amazon Go stores,” she added.

    Moreover, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the company is also temporarily pausing expansion of the Fresh grocery chain until it can find a format that resonates with customers and “where we like the economics”, the report mentioned.

    In 2018, the first Amazon Go store opened to the public at the company’s headquarters in Seattle.

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    #Amazon #shut #stores #cut #costs

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Dems want to cut Fox off after lawsuit revelations

    Dems want to cut Fox off after lawsuit revelations

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    “There is nothing in those documents to show they operate like a real news organization,” said Doug Gordon, a Democratic strategist. “If you are running a campaign in 2024, how do you in good faith hand your ads to Fox when you know they handed them over to Republicans? If there are any general election debates, how do you let Fox be a moderator?”

    There is no indication, at this juncture, that major Democratic entities are ready to halt their ad buys on Fox News, let alone its many affiliates. But that is partially because few Democratic campaigns or causes are currently spending ad money. In the interim, the Dominion lawsuit revelations have led to louder calls for the party to make a firm break from any involvement with the cable channel, whom they view as functionally a campaign arm for Republicans. Democrats spanning the ideological spectrum have even started calling on the White House Correspondents’ Association — the group of news reporters advocating for press access — to boot Fox News reporters from the briefing room.

    “They are arguably the most important entity of the American right and the Republican Party,” said Democratic strategist Simon Rosenberg, suggesting that The Associated Press include in its stylebook that Fox News is not a news organization. “There needs to be a serious conversation now about whether Fox can continue to be a member of the White House Correspondents Association. Keeping them there seems not to be OK.”

    Even with its reputation for airing reliably conservative content, Fox News remains a major player in Democratic politics. More self-identified Democrats consistently watch the network than any other cable channel, according to Nielsen MRI Fusion. And a faction of Democrats sees value in both reaching those voters and trying to persuade the independents and Republican-leaning ones who tune into the channel.

    In the 2020 campaign cycle, the network hosted a presidential debate, accepted some $7.4 million in advertising from Joe Biden’s presidential campaign to Fox News, according to the tracking firm AdImpact, and held town halls with Democratic primary contenders. While Biden administration officials have selectively chosen to appear on Fox News for interviews, the president’s aides have also sought out opportunities to use the network as a cudgel against Republican lawmakers — whether on economic issues or matters of public safety.

    White House officials, for their part, describe their relationship with Fox employees who cover them closely as combative but mostly cordial. But they also view the Dominion lawsuit revelations as a cover of sorts to treat Fox News with a bit more frostiness than other media outlets. Biden aides have privately bristled at news reporters who just weeks ago piled on criticism of the president for side stepping a customary Super Bowl interview with Fox.

    “Regardless of any new revelations of media bias and hypocrisy during the 2020 campaign, Joe Biden won the most votes of any candidate in American history because of his vision for the middle class, his message, and his record,” White House spokesman Andrew Bates said in a statement. “And anyone who is surprised by such revelations hasn’t been paying attention to — or watching — Fox News lately.”

    Bates and others have been trolling Fox of late, including sending a statement to the network for inclusion in a story questioning whether viewers and readers should trust Fox News’ reporting on Biden, citing executives’ reported kid-glove treatment of Trump. The White House statement to Fox was reported by Semafor.

    Fox, in turn, accused the White House of resorting to “junior varsity campaign style stunts.”

    Other Democrats want the president and his party to react more aggressively. On the House floor, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) teed off on censorship legislation, arguing “it would still be strange to say that Fox News was censoring itself” when it knowingly amplified 2020 election lies. MoveOn, the liberal advocacy outfit, urged cable service chief executives to make Fox News optional. And the Progressive Change Campaign Committee called for the White House Correspondents’ Association to remove Fox from the press pool.

    Congress’ top two Democrats also weighed in, writing to Murdoch to urge his network to stop spreading false election narratives and “admit on the air that they were wrong to engage in such negligent behavior.”

    Fox News has resisted covering the Dominion lawsuit. But in a statement, a Fox representative said, “Dominion’s lawsuit has always been more about what will generate headlines than what can withstand legal and factual scrutiny, as illustrated by them now being forced to slash their fanciful damages demand by more than half a billion dollars after their own expert debunked its implausible claims.”

    “Their summary judgment motion took an extreme, unsupported view of defamation law that would prevent journalists from basic reporting and their efforts to publicly smear FOX for covering and commenting on allegations by a sitting President of the United States should be recognized for what it is: a blatant violation of the First Amendment.”

    A Dominion spokesperson said in a statement: “The evidence will show that Dominion was a valuable, rapidly growing business that was executing on its plan to expand prior to the time that Fox began endorsing baseless lies about Dominion voting machines. Following Fox’s defamatory statements, Dominion’s business suffered enormously.”

    A spokesperson for Fox News said it not only tops competitors combined in the ratings, “but has the most politically diverse audience with more Democrats and Independents watching than either CNN and MSNBC. This is another predictable attack by left-wing groups desperate for attention and relevancy.”

    Intermittent lashings of Fox News from the left are not a new occurrence. Democratic politicians from the White House to statehouses have long weighed whether trying to reach the network’s coveted audience is worth the cost of appearing to legitimize the network. Those who advocate for engagement say it’s folly to imagine the channel will have less impact if the party ignores it. Those who call for a boycott argue it makes no sense to push the party’s agenda on daytime airwaves only to find it demonized at night. And increasingly, they think that whatever editorial line existed between its dayside hosts and its bombastic prime time names has become blurrier and blurrier.

    As the debate starts anew, several top strategists and communications aides said they believe the Dominion revelations will spur legitimate news organizations to stop treating Fox as one of their own.

    “Democrats reached a verdict on Fox News many years ago. The only open question is does the rest of the political media ecosystem treat them as legitimate or not?” asked Eric Schultz, a deputy press secretary under former President Barack Obama. “The latest revelations mostly call into question everybody else’s long-standing defense of the network.”

    But even those, like Schultz, who argue that Fox News’ reputation should be permanently tainted by the Dominion suit are reluctant to call for Democrats to completely shut out the network.

    “It would be like unilaterally not engaging on Facebook — in many ways a toxic platform but where millions of people get their information,” he said.

    James Carville, the veteran Democratic strategist, said there was no reason to approach the network differently now because of the Dominion lawsuit revelations.

    “They get viewers only because they tell viewers what they want to hear or see,” he said. “They want to be brainwashed. They show up at the front door of the cleaners. They leave their brain there — ‘wash and fold and I’ll pick it up.’”

    Instead, Carville offered that there was a utility to having the network as a foil, noting that Biden’s White House hasn’t suffered from having Fox News in the briefing room, led by network scion Peter Doocy.

    “Sites on the left love when they smack Peter Doocy back,” he said. “And usually, for more than half the people who see it, it’s Fox that looks stupid.”

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    #Dems #cut #Fox #lawsuit #revelations
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • Opinion | Before Slashing Social Security, Cut 401(k)s

    Opinion | Before Slashing Social Security, Cut 401(k)s

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    Given these tremendous expenses, it is initially hard to understand why people who seem so worried about the costs of old-age benefits choose to focus solely on Social Security. But it becomes easier to understand once you realize who benefits the most from the various parts of the old-age system.

    DBs, DCs and IRAs are overwhelmingly skewed toward the rich, while Social Security is more heavily relied upon by low-wage workers. Low-wage workers are less likely to work for an employer that offers a pension and have far less surplus income to put toward a 401(k) plan or an IRA. Even when low-wage workers do participate in these programs, they receive less tax benefits for doing so because low-wage workers have lower tax rates than high-wage workers.

    Whether it’s based on self-interest or political expediency, those calling to cut Social Security are asking more from the most vulnerable Americans, while letting the well-off off the hook.

    According to the Congressional Budget Office, the richest fifth of Americans receive 58.1 percent of all the government subsidies provided to DBs, DCs and IRAs while the poorest fifth receive just 1.3 percent. Even the middle fifth receives only 10.5 percent of the subsidies, about half of what they would receive if the money were distributed evenly. This year, the poorest fifth of the population will receive around $5 billion of the $371 billion of federal tax breaks allocated to these programs. The middle fifth will receive around $39 billion, while the richest fifth will receive a whopping $215 billion.

    Social Security provides benefits to all retired workers, but the benefits are far more significant to low-wage workers. These workers get relatively little out of the other old-age programs and therefore rely much more heavily on the floor provided by the Social Security program. Additionally, the Social Security benefit formula replaces up to 90 percent of the monthly wages received by low-paid workers. The income-replacement rate for higher-paid workers is much lower than 90 percent and is subject to a maximum cap currently set at $3,627 per month.

    DBs, DCs and IRAs also provide significant amounts of fee revenue to Wall Street banks and other financial intermediaries who administer the tens of millions of individual accounts and pension funds. This aspect of the system periodically generates outrage when research is released showing that many financial institutions are basically scamming their account holders with shockingly high management fees. But when it comes to the debate about old-age programs, this gusher of cash for the financial sector no doubt helps to explain why these programs are never targeted, while Social Security, which provides no money to the financial industry, is always in the crosshairs.

    Of course, it doesn’t have to be this way. The rules governing DCs, DBs and IRAs, as well as the massive public subsidies flowing to them, can be changed just as the rules governing Social Security can be changed. If we are seriously worried about the generosity of old-age benefits or the government’s debt, then surely everything should be on the table and the part of the system that most favors the rich should be front and center.

    For example, the most talked-about proposal for cutting Social Security right now is focused on gradually raising the full retirement age to 70 years old. The CBO says that this would save $121 billion between 2024 and 2032. However, a similar amount of savings could be achieved by applying an annual 0.03 percent tax on the $34.5 trillion of assets held by DBs, DCs and IRAs. Such a tax could be directly collected and remitted by the financial institutions that manage these accounts without changing anything at all about the tax-filing obligations of individuals. For a person with a $100,000 IRA, the tax would amount to just $30 per year.

    This is just one of many policies that could be used to trim this other half of the American retirement system. Although I personally don’t believe spending on old-age benefits is a pressing issue at the moment, people who do think that should give up their singular fixation on Social Security. If they do not, they can be safely disregarded as unserious and as motivated by things other than a sincere concern for retirement finances.

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    #Opinion #Slashing #Social #Security #Cut #401ks
    ( With inputs from : www.politico.com )

  • AAP is synonymous with ‘cut, commission and corruption’: BJP

    AAP is synonymous with ‘cut, commission and corruption’: BJP

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    New Delhi: Targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after the Supreme Court declined to entertain a plea filed by Manish Sisodia challenging his arrest by the CBI in connection with the 2021-22 Delhi liquor policy case, the BJP alleged on Tuesday that now the AAP has become synonymous with “cut, commission and corruption”.

    The BJP will now raise the issue of corruption by AAP across the country and tell the people that AAP leaders have not got any relief in the matter from the Supreme Court.

    Addressing the media at the party headquarters here, senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the Supreme Court did not give any relief to Anna Hazare’s ‘great disciple’ Manish Sisodia in connection with the liquor policy case, which he termed as a ‘text book’ case of corruption.

    “These people had claimed to fight corruption before coming to power in Delhi. But after assuming charge of the government, these same people worngfully gave away liquor contracts, reduced the drinking age and made a profit of Rs 100 crore. These people made people drink liquor by promising to open schools,” Prasad said.

    Prasad also said that Sisodia and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that they are the torch-bearers of transparency in the country, but now they have maligned the legacy of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

    Holding Kejriwal directly responsible for the liquor policy case, the BJP leader said: “Can any minister dare to work in the Delhi government without asking Kejriwal? Now even the Punjab government functions only on his directions.”

    Launching a scathing attack against AAP, Prasad said that he used to think that ‘cut and commission’ is the legacy of only one party, but today it has to be said that ‘3Cs’, i.e., ‘cut, commission and corruption’ are also synonymous with Kejriwal’s party.

    “Sisodia must disclose why he changed 16 phones, why did he destroy evidence,” Prasad said.

    The BJP leader also accused Kejriwal of lying repeatedly, adding that Kejriwal’s ministers, who had levelled allegations against the CBI and the Central government, are currently lodged in jail.

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    #AAP #synonymous #cut #commission #corruption #BJP

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Family Relations |  “My mother has criticized me all my life” – HS readers tell why they have cut ties with th

    Family Relations | “My mother has criticized me all my life” – HS readers tell why they have cut ties with th

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    The background of a toxic parent-child relationship is often the parent’s untreated substance abuse problem or personality disorder, says Psychotherapist Katriina Järvinen.

    Year after year, nothing but criticism, invalidation and litigation, sometimes even chilling manipulation. HS readers tell why they have finally ended up breaking up with their own parents.

    “Yes it is your ass is spread again. When you look like that, you’ll never find a man. You would even get a decent job. Now don’t get angry, I mean it, I’m only thinking of your best!”

    For example, such things Psychotherapist and social psychologist Katriina Järvinen has heard at his reception when people have told what their own parents have told them.

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    #Family #Relations #mother #criticized #life #readers #cut #ties
    ( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

  • Two new rulings endorse the cut in flow for the Tajo-Segura transfer

    Two new rulings endorse the cut in flow for the Tajo-Segura transfer

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    Two new rulings have agreed with the Government in its decision to increase the ecological flow of the Tagus (the minimum amount of water that must circulate), which means a reduction in the amount of water sent to the Mediterranean for irrigation and domestic consumption through the Tagus-Segura transfer. The National Court has rejected the contentious-administrative appeal presented by the Region of Murcia (governed by the PP) in 2019 to double the amount transferred, while the Supreme Court has shelved that of the Generalitat Valenciana de Ximo Puig (PSOE), which It was presented in 2021. The two sentences, which are added to five other previous ones from the Supreme Court in the same sense, come at a time when the water war has been reopened, after entering into force in the middle of this month in the last cut of the transferable water volume, something rejected by Murcia, Andalusia and the Valencian Community (which have presented new resources), which demand more water, while Castilla-La Mancha celebrates it.

    The sentences, known today, respond to two appeals that do not contemplate the last change in the ecological flow, which was established at 6 cubic meters on average per year and has now risen in Aranjuez by 7 cubic meters per second since the approval of the recovery plan. basin until 2026. In January of that year it will rise to 8 cubic meters and in 2027, to 8.6. The greater this flow, the less water can be diverted to transfer to Murcia, Andalusia and the Valencian Community.

    Murcia’s appeal protested because in November 2019 a transfer of 7.5 cubic hectometres had been decreed from the Entrepeñas-Buendía reservoirs, while the Murcian Executive claimed 14.7 hectometres, alleging that the Tagus had sufficient reserves to send them what what they asked for The appellants understood that the Government did not sufficiently motivate its reduced transfer proposal, something that has been rejected by the First Section of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the National Court, which also concludes that the Ministry for Ecological Transition acted with ” prevention and precaution” before the hydrological situation. Against this ruling there is an appeal.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Court rejects the appeal of the Valencian Community, which requested the annulment of Royal Decree 638/2021, of July 27 (BOE of the following day), which approves various regulatory regulations for the transfer through the Tajo-Segura aqueduct, at the same time which condemns the Government of Ximo Puig to pay the costs. This alleged that some mandatory reports were missing, such as that of the National Water Council, but the high court understands that said absence “does not invalidate” the royal decree.

    As soon as these two new rulings became known, the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, celebrated the last two rulings this Monday, which, as he highlighted, “make it very clear that we have the right to water” and that the rules of exploitation of the Tagus-Segura transfer are “unfair”. During an act in Torrijos (Toledo), he has announced that he is going to demand that the Government of Spain not exhaust the one-year period that exists to change the rules of exploitation of the transfer and “be as early as possible”.

    What affects the most is what happens closer. To not miss anything, subscribe.

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    #rulings #endorse #cut #flow #TajoSegura #transfer
    ( With inputs from : pledgetimes.com )

  • Reiki Crystal Products Black Tourmaline Stones Diamond Cut 6 mm Crystal Stone Mala for Reiki Healing and Crystal Healing for Men and Women

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  • Nikki Haley says if voted to power, she will cut foreign aid to countries which hate America

    Nikki Haley says if voted to power, she will cut foreign aid to countries which hate America

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    Washington: Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has vowed that if voted to power, she will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries which hate America.

    She mentioned Pakistan, China, Iraq and other countries, saying “a strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys”.

    The 51-year-old two-term Governor of South Carolina and the former US Ambassador to the United Nations formally launched her 2024 presidential bid earlier this month.

    “I will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us. A strong America doesn’t pay off the bad guys. A proud America doesn’t waste our people’s hard-earned money. And the only leaders who deserve our trust are those who stand up to our enemies and stand beside our friends,” she wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post.

    She said that America has spent USD 46 billion on foreign aid last year, which is given to countries like China, Pakistan, and Iraq. American taxpayers deserve to know where that money is going and what it’s doing, she added.

    “They will be shocked to find that much of it goes to fund anti-American countries and causes. As president, I’ll put a stop to this fiasco,” she said.

    According to Haley, the Biden administration resumed military aid to Pakistan, though it’s home to at least a dozen terrorist organisations and its government is deeply in hock to China.

    She said that as the US ambassador to the UN, she strongly supported then president Donald Trump’s decision to cut nearly USD 2 billion of military aid to Pakistan because that country supported terrorists who kill American troops.

    “It was a major victory for our troops, our taxpayers and our vital interests, but it didn’t go nearly far enough. We’ve still given them way too much in other aid. As president, I will block every penny,” she added.

    She said that the Biden administration restored half a billion dollars to “a corrupt United Nations agency” that’s supposed to help the Palestinian people but in fact covers for deeply anti-Semitic propaganda against our ally Israel. She added the US has given Iraq more than USD 1 billion over the last few years, even though its government is getting closer to Iran.

    She said American taxpayers still give money to “Communist China for ridiculous environment programs, despite the obvious threat China poses to Americans.”

    “We give money to Belarus, which is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s closest ally. We even give money to Communist Cuba a country our own government has designated as a state sponsor of terrorism,” she said, adding that it’s been happening for decades under presidents of both parties.

    “I am running for president to restore our nation’s strength, our national pride and our people’s trust. Backing American allies and friends like Israel and Ukraine is smart. Sending our tax dollars to enemies isn’t,” she added.

    “At the UN, I put together a book of how much money we give other countries and how often they vote with us. It was eye-opening. We are giving huge amounts of cash to countries that vote against us most of the time. That doesn’t make sense. I’ll stop it. America can’t buy our friends. We’ll certainly never buy off our enemies,” she added.

    Less than a fortnight after entering the race to the White House, Haley is leading against President Joe Biden in a hypothetical match, according to a latest opinion poll on Friday. But she trails badly against leading GOP candidate former president Trump, Rasmussen Report said based on a survey it conducted between February 16 to 19.

    Among the Republicans she comes at the third position after Trump (52 per cent) and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (24 per cent).

    Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to immigrant Punjabi Sikh parents, Haley is the third Indian-American to run for the US presidency in three consecutive election cycles. Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.

    Before entering the presidential ballot, Haley has to win the Republican Party’s presidential primary which will start in January next year. The next US presidential election is scheduled to be held on November 5, 2024.

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    #Nikki #Haley #voted #power #cut #foreign #aid #countries #hate #America

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Ericsson to lay off 8,500 employees globally to cut costs

    Ericsson to lay off 8,500 employees globally to cut costs

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    London: Swedish telecom gear-maker Ericsson is laying off about 8 per cent of its workforce, around 8,500 employees, to cut costs in the ongoing global macroeconomic conditions, the media reported on Friday.

    According to an internal memo sent to employees, the company said the headcount reduction has been conveyed to employees in several countries.

    “We see a potential to simplify and become more efficient throughout the company, especially when it comes to structural costs,” a company spokesperson told Bloomberg.

    The telecom networking company earlier laid off at least 1,400 employees or 10 per cent of its workforce in Sweden after negotiating with unions.

    The company said in a statement earlier this week that the company intended to conduct the job cut process through a voluntary programme after closing negotiations with employee unions, Barron’s had reported.

    “Reducing headcount is never easy, and we will manage this with the utmost respect and professionalism. Further details are always communicated to the relevant staff first,” Ericsson said.

    “The cost savings cover various areas such as reduction of consultants, streamlining of processes, reduced facilities, etc. As previously announced, it will also include head-count reduction,” Ericsson had added.

    The Stockholm-headquartered company in December last year said it was aiming to slash costs by $880 million by the end of 2023.

    Last month, Ericsson missed expectations for its fourth-quarter earnings.

    The company joins a growing list of tech firms which have laid off thousands of employees in the recent months.

    It had warned of reduced spending from customers in the US and other developed markets.

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    #Ericsson #lay #employees #globally #cut #costs

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Pakistan to cut number of missions abroad under austerity measures

    Pakistan to cut number of missions abroad under austerity measures

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    Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has issued instructions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to slash down a number of foreign missions abroad and reduce their offices, staff, and other measures to cut down expenditures by 15 per cent.

    “The Prime Minister is pleased to direct that a well-considered proposal/plan in this respect may please be submitted to this office within two weeks positively,” The News quoted a directive issued by the PMO as saying.

    This official communication titled “Rationalisation of Foreign Mission Abroad” states that in view of the ongoing economic constraints and the consequent need for fiscal consolidation and control of external deficit, the Prime Minister was pleased to constitute a National Austerity Committee (NAC).

    The committee has recommended, inter-alia, that the expenditure on Pakistan Missions abroad may be reduced by 15 per cent.

    “This may be achieved by curtailing the number of Foreign Missions, reduction in the number of officers and staff posted there and other suitable measures,” it further stated.

    There have been increasing frustrations among the political-cum-technocratic members of the federal cabinet for reluctance on the part of the government not to implement the recommendations given by the NAC which was constituted by the premier himself but so far no action got implemented, The News reported.

    For instance, one federal minister consumes 1,000 liters of petrol on monthly basis. He possesses a luxurious vehicle and three other official cars, The News reported.

    Another minister demonstrating austerity has written a letter to return a vehicle to the government and also made the letter public.

    But he didn’t disclose that he had utilised his ministry’s limit on petrol just in a couple of months of the ongoing financial year.

    There is another practice in the Federal Secretariat as hiring was being done in name of specialists, experts, and young fellows without consideration of actual requirements and well-defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

    The majority of bureaucrats is taking the monetisation of vehicles but is also using official cars and petrol through different heads, The News reported.

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    #Pakistan #cut #number #missions #austerity #measures

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )