Low utilisation of PSDP funds irks PM

Imran Khan directs Planning Commission to come up with monthly performance review report

ISLAMABAD:

: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed upon the need for ensuring optimal and timely utilisation of funds allocated under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and said planning was eyes and ears of the chief executive.

He said this while chairing a meeting to review progress on PSDP at the Prime Minister Office. The meeting was attended by Minister for Planning Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan and other senior officials.

The meeting was briefed that an amount of Rs701 billion had been allocated under the PSDP during Fiscal Year 2019-20. It was informed that utmost efforts were being undertaken to eliminate delays in authorisation by the Planning Commission for ensuring seamless implementation of the approved projects.

The meeting was briefed on the detailed report prepared to assess the utilisation of the First Quarter releases by various ministries and divisions.

It was apprised that powers had been given to the principal accounting officers (secretaries of ministries) for the release of funds for projects amounting less than Rs2 billion to expedite progress on projects allocated to different ministries.

The prime minister, while expressing concern over the under-utilisation of funds by various ministries and divisions, instructed the Planning Commission to come up with a monthly performance review report so as to determine the reasons behind under-utilisation of the funds allocated for vital PSDPs.

He stressed that unless all the PSDPs were executed timely, the wheels of the economy could not be turned.

The meeting also reviewed in detail the release of funds to various corporations and authorities, and satisfactory results of the block allocations to Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

It was informed that an elaborate exercise had been carried out by the Planning Commission to extend support and facilitation to the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC ) projects.

During the current fiscal year, a total of 170 projects will be completed out of which 38 are mega projects.

A specific monitoring and evaluation set up is being established at the Planning Commission to ensure completion of all these projects within the timelines, the participants were briefed.

The prime minister said policies needed to be well-thought out and harmonised to yield desired results.

He stressed enhanced coordination among the ministries for early and effective completion of the projects. He also directed that focus should be on those ministries which were executing development projects as this would facilitate job creation and counter unemployment.

Economic development would ensure better opportunities for the youth of the country, he concluded.