ISLAMABAD: Following crisis after crisis that has left the PML-N government red-faced several times over the past few months, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wants the government’s key ministries “scientifically monitored”.

Although an official statement released on Sunday made no mention of which ministries would be examined with a fine-tooth comb, the ministries of Water and Power, Petroleum, Finance and the Planning Commis­sion have been in the news of late due to the recent fuel crisis and frequent power breakdowns, and are likely to come under renewed scrutiny.

Also read: Prime minister saves ministers, alienates civil servants

The PM, who “spent a busy day in his office”, according to a press statement, made surprise visits to a couple of local markets to see for himself whether the decrease in oil prices had trickled down to the grassroots-level.

Later in the afternoon, the PM chaired a marathon meeting that brainstormed ways and examined means to keep a close eye on the working of important federal ministries.

“The meeting decided that an Evaluation, Monitor­ing and Delivery Cell would be set up immediately in the Prime Minister’s Office to keep a watch on the working of key ministries,” said the statement.

Special cell to be set up at PM’s Office

The vague “reform agenda of the government” also occupied the PM’s attention during the meeting. Normally, the PM spends his weekends in Lahore with his mother at sprawling Raiwind residence. However, since she is currently abroad for a medical check-up, the PM may have stuck around in Islamabad because he found this weekend free.

A follow-up meeting of this monitoring cell will take place on Monday and will discuss matters related to civil service reforms, as well as improvements in service delivery by public departments.

From the text of the government’s statements, it would appear that recent embarrassments have forced the PM and his advisers to adopt a more hands-on approach in running the government.

But the government’s detractors have a different view.

“If a third-time prime minister, who also has experience running Punjab as chief minister, needs such superficial measures to keep a check on how his ministries are run, one can only imagine how disjointed the federal cabinet has become,” a former PPP federal minister told Dawn in an off-the-record conversation.

“What about the audit of federal ministries which the PM conducted in November of last year? Did he take any action against failing ministers then, as he had said he would on numerous occasions,” the PPP leader asked.

In the last week of Nov 2014, the PM held meetings with all ministries and attended presentations where they briefed the PM on their performance. However, after the initial kerfuffle, no concrete measures were taken.

“Khawaja Asif, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Ishaq Dar, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Ahsan Iqbal have all been cabinet members during the PML-N’s previous stints in power. If they still need the PM to keep a personal check on them, then their boss needs to do more than just setting up a monitoring cell,” quipped the PPP leader.

Published in Dawn February 9th , 2015

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