Deadlock to persist: Centre, K-P funding dispute to endure
Federal govt yet to release first tranche of Rs30b of Rs220b
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muzaffar Said PHOTO: SDPI
ISLAMABAD:
A protracted dispute between the Centre and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over provision of funds payable to the provincial government is likely to persist in the backdrop of a deadlock over Panama Leaks issue.
The provincial government maintained that the federal government was liable to pay Rs225 billion to the KP under different financial heads, but no funds had so far been issued. Negotiations between both sides have continued since last year, but without yielding any results.
Sources in KP Chief Minister’s Secretariat told The Express Tribune that the federal government had formally conveyed that it was not possible to release the pending funds, since the fiscal 2016-17 would lapse on June 30.
“We have been told that at least 45 days are needed … for the release of funds … and this is not possible now with only a few days left before the end of the financial year,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak recently convened a meeting of senior functionaries of provincial government, instructing them to stop work on major development projects after the hope for the release of funds by the federal government diminished, the sources said.
Panama leaks: PTI announces series of protests after Eid
The federal government, it is learnt, was not even willing to release the first tranche of Rs30 billion of Rs220 billion either, which should have been released not later than March this year. Following talks, both sides finally agreed that the federal government would release the first installment by the first week of April, just before Panama Leaks took the country by storm.
As differences between the PML-N and the PTI deepened, the issue of release of funds was relegated to cold storage, affecting more than 100 developmental projects in 25 districts of KP.
“Strange excuses are being proffered to deny us our due share,” KP lawmaker Sardar Idrees told The Express Tribune. “We are being told that certain procedures regarding the release of funds from the federation to any province requires the approval of PM, who is (at present) in London for medical treatment and, therefore, funds cannot be released,” he said.
As deadlock between the federal government and opposition endured, the PTI once again warned to take to the streets if PM Nawaz Sharif’s name was not included in the terms of reference (TORs) being framed by the Parliamentary Committee on Panama Papers. However, the government insisted that TORs should be generic and not person-specific.
“We are not hopeful that we would get our due share of funds anytime soon, mainly because of our principled stance on Panama Leaks issue,” Idrees said.
Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi is said to have taken ‘personal’ interest in this regard. But, the issue still remained unresolved.
IT worker at Panama Papers firm arrested in Geneva
Sadiq Abbasi, a representative of the deputy speaker, said some lawmakers from the Hazara region of the ruling party in KP approached the deputy speaker for resolving the issue.
“The deputy speaker referred the matter to relevant authorities in the federal government. His role in this regard has been nothing more than that,” he said.
Sources said the KP government was pressing for the release of funds this financial year because funds would have to be reallocated in the new financial year if funds are not released this year. “There would be new legal hitches, procedural difficulties and bureaucratic hurdles in the new financial year. All delaying tactics would simply be repeated.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2016.
A protracted dispute between the Centre and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over provision of funds payable to the provincial government is likely to persist in the backdrop of a deadlock over Panama Leaks issue.
The provincial government maintained that the federal government was liable to pay Rs225 billion to the KP under different financial heads, but no funds had so far been issued. Negotiations between both sides have continued since last year, but without yielding any results.
Sources in KP Chief Minister’s Secretariat told The Express Tribune that the federal government had formally conveyed that it was not possible to release the pending funds, since the fiscal 2016-17 would lapse on June 30.
“We have been told that at least 45 days are needed … for the release of funds … and this is not possible now with only a few days left before the end of the financial year,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.
K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak recently convened a meeting of senior functionaries of provincial government, instructing them to stop work on major development projects after the hope for the release of funds by the federal government diminished, the sources said.
Panama leaks: PTI announces series of protests after Eid
The federal government, it is learnt, was not even willing to release the first tranche of Rs30 billion of Rs220 billion either, which should have been released not later than March this year. Following talks, both sides finally agreed that the federal government would release the first installment by the first week of April, just before Panama Leaks took the country by storm.
As differences between the PML-N and the PTI deepened, the issue of release of funds was relegated to cold storage, affecting more than 100 developmental projects in 25 districts of KP.
“Strange excuses are being proffered to deny us our due share,” KP lawmaker Sardar Idrees told The Express Tribune. “We are being told that certain procedures regarding the release of funds from the federation to any province requires the approval of PM, who is (at present) in London for medical treatment and, therefore, funds cannot be released,” he said.
As deadlock between the federal government and opposition endured, the PTI once again warned to take to the streets if PM Nawaz Sharif’s name was not included in the terms of reference (TORs) being framed by the Parliamentary Committee on Panama Papers. However, the government insisted that TORs should be generic and not person-specific.
“We are not hopeful that we would get our due share of funds anytime soon, mainly because of our principled stance on Panama Leaks issue,” Idrees said.
Deputy Speaker National Assembly Murtaza Javed Abbasi is said to have taken ‘personal’ interest in this regard. But, the issue still remained unresolved.
IT worker at Panama Papers firm arrested in Geneva
Sadiq Abbasi, a representative of the deputy speaker, said some lawmakers from the Hazara region of the ruling party in KP approached the deputy speaker for resolving the issue.
“The deputy speaker referred the matter to relevant authorities in the federal government. His role in this regard has been nothing more than that,” he said.
Sources said the KP government was pressing for the release of funds this financial year because funds would have to be reallocated in the new financial year if funds are not released this year. “There would be new legal hitches, procedural difficulties and bureaucratic hurdles in the new financial year. All delaying tactics would simply be repeated.”
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2016.