Underutilised budgets

Mere 15 per cent of health sector’s annual budget has been utilised in the first six months of the fiscal year 2015-16

Health and education reforms had been the battle cry of the PTI in their election campaigns. So when the party came into power in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), it attempted to take measures to make good on its promises by boosting funding for the two crucial sectors. That was a clear break from the past when governments, hobbled by resource crunch and different sets of priorities, used to set aside measly funds for the two sectors. But with improved finances, a result of heftier transfer of money to provinces from the federal divisible pool following the passage of the 18^th Amendment, K-P, like other federating units, found greater elbow room to jack up budgets for both health and education, and it did. But to lay aside adequate funds is one thing, to actually use them up in identified projects is quite another. In this latter respect, K-P appears to be wanting. A mere 15 per cent of the health sector’s annual budget of Rs8.2 billion has been utilised in the first six months of the fiscal year 2015-16.

As has been reported in this newspaper, official documents say that of the total allocation, Rs4.3 billion or 51 per cent of the total outlay was released but only Rs1.26 billion have been used between July 1 and December 31. That is not a pretty picture. If the pace of utilisation of budgeted funds is this slow, one cannot imagine that the situation would be vastly different in the remaining half of the fiscal year. The autonomy and power the provinces have acquired through the 18^th Amendment were much needed, but that autonomy and power need to be put to advantage, not frittered away. Sadly, too often the latter seems to be the case and not just in K-P. While we must not be stingy in giving credit where credit is due, and acknowledging that there indeed have been improvements in K-P’s health sector, a lot needs to be done to alter the face of public health infrastructure across the province, especially its vast rural hinterland. Authorities will need to focus on boosting capacity and competence so that this problem of available funding not being used effectively could be addressed.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 5^th, 2016.

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