MNAs’ budget increased by 59%
design: mohsin alam
In complete disregard to the looming sovereign default, the government on Wednesday approved an increase of 59% in the discretionary budget of parliamentarians to a record Rs111 billion for the outgoing fiscal year.
The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet approved Rs36.2 billion in supplementary grants, including Rs20 billion for the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP), a term used for discretionary spending by parliamentarians.
With the fresh approval, the total allocation for such schemes has been raised to Rs111 billion. Earlier, the National Assembly approved Rs70 billion for those schemes. It was for the fourth time that the ECC approved a supplementary grant for SAP.
At a meeting chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the ECC granted additional funds to parliamentarians by slashing the budget of educational institutes, innovation support project and backward districts of Pakistan.
It comes at a time when Pakistan is facing the threat of default and urgently needs to negotiate debt restructuring with domestic banks and international creditors to create some fiscal space. However, instead of following a prudent path, the government is doling out funds for such schemes where chances of misuse are quite high due to the lack of proper scrutiny.
Also, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had constituted a national austerity committee, which recommended a halt to federal government funding for parliamentarians’ schemes.
Such spending is prone to corruption, misuse and often leads to wastage of resources. Although these schemes are needed at the village level, they cannot be executed in the absence of local governments.
The coalition government had earlier decided to give each MNA Rs500 million.
For the next financial year, the planning ministry is considering allocating Rs90 billion for the schemes of parliamentarians. PM Sharif on Tuesday instructed the finance ministry to further increase the proposed overall development budget of Rs700 billion for the next fiscal year.
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To recall, the government had refused to give Rs20 billion in supplementary grant to the Election Commission of Pakistan for holding elections in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on the pretext that the current economic conditions did not allow additional expenses.
The ECC also approved a supplementary budget of Rs4 billion for the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Industries and Production submitted a summary on urea requirement for 2023 and briefed on fertiliser situation in the country.
The ECC, after detailed discussion, allowed Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL)-based fertiliser plants, Fatima Fertiliser (Sheikhupura) and Agritech, to operate beyond May 31, 2023 till August 31, 2023 on indigenous gas with no subsidy from the federal government, according to the finance ministry.
Additionally, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination submitted a summary on participation of Sindh’s mangrove projects in voluntary carbon markets.
It informed the ECC that the Sindh Forest Department was implementing two Indus Delta mangrove projects, namely Delta Blue Carbon-I (DBC-I) and Delta Blue Carbon-II (DBC-II), to generate carbon credits and trade with international entities on the voluntary carbon market.
The ECC approved the ministry’s proposal as the DBC-I and DBC-II projects were initiated prior to the commitment made under NDCs in 2021. These projects are expected to generate about $200-220 million till 2043 with additional benefits like creating green jobs, according to the finance ministry.
The ECC considered a summary of the Ministry of Energy on payment mechanisms and agreements with Uch Power (Pvt) Limited. It approved proposals for a novation agreement, master agreement and PPA amendment, which would result in savings of Rs33 billion over seven years, said the finance ministry.
The committee also approved various other supplementary grants, which included Rs2.5 million in favour of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination to meet its expenditures.
It approved Rs264 million in favour of the office of Controller General of Accounts for online billing solution in federal and provincial accountant generals.
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The cabinet body endorsed a Rs497.2 million supplementary grant for the Ministry of Housing and Works for the execution of a development scheme. It gave Rs420 million to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to meet its budgetary shortfall for information services abroad.
Another Rs10.8 billion was earmarked for the Federal Directorate of Immunisation for the procurement of vaccines and syringes to ensure their uninterrupted supply to provinces.
The committee gave an additional Rs25 million to the President Secretariat for employees-related expenses and Rs208 million to the Intelligence Bureau to meet its additional expenses on staff salaries.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2023.
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