Premature announcement

At the releasing of the federal budget, the Government of Pakistan announced that the Asian Development Bank had pledged $3.4 billion in budgetary support. In an embarrassing turn of events, the ADB has politely refuted the claim. While a meeting took place between Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and ADB Director General Werner Liepach, the Pakistani delegation interpreted the talks as a vow that the ADB would contribute the grandiose amount towards its budget fund. Alas, the adage that when something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t, applies.

Our finance adviser who tweeted the claim along with Federal Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar are yet to redact their statements. The embarrassment conveyed by the ADB is actually ours to own. A meeting that publicly takes place to discuss possibilities does not in any way translate to finality. It was irresponsible of our cabinet members to issue public statements when, on paper, there was gross misinterpretation of the ADB DG’s general offers. The ADB agreed to facilitate Pakistan in developing budget assistance programmes, reforming policies, and helping Pakistan towards general sustainability and independence. If concrete financial figures were discussed, there should have been consensus on whether those numbers could be made public, noting that the ABD director general was not alleged to have come to Pakistan with any concrete agenda.

Requesting further loans from agencies to which we already owe money is a painstaking task — if not an impossible one. The $20 to $22 billion requirement for the 2019-2020 budget financing, of which 50% is debt servicing and repayments, is expected to induce nervous behaviour from the men put in charge of managing that debt. However, officials need to maintain professionalism and refrain from premature public statements. Conversely, if such a large and specific figure was discussed, the Ministry of Finance should investigate why the ADB shied away from the amount. Alternative routes need to be pursued, especially now that the budget has already been released, creating a framework of smaller financial goals for the coming year.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2019.

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