Lagging PSDP spending

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The declining level of development spending is a matter of grave concern, as not even 40% of the federal government's proposed PSDP from the budget has actually been utilised. If government departments were on pace to spend the total Rs1.1 trillion budgeted for 1,071 projects, at least 60% of the amount should have been spent by now.

Failure to meet these spending targets would have disastrous results for a country that is already behind the global curve on development and an economy that desperately needs stimulus through investment or public works.

Government officials and ministers' attempts to positively spin the situation by noting how low spending has been in recent years also have the potential to backfire, as in those previous years, the country was in the middle of an economic catastrophe that the government claims to have guided it out from.

Moreover, the fact that some of the most backward areas have seen the least amount of government spending also suggests that the forgotten masses remain an afterthought.

The government has had no hesitation when it comes to spending on parliamentarians' schemes which, despite the budget crunch, will have used the entire proposed budget by the end of the fiscal year. Parliamentarians also found ample wiggle room in the budget to give themselves massive raises.

Those raises also bring additional questions over claims that some funding issues are due to commitments to the IMF. The fund is generally willing to allow spending on projects that will provide long-term economic benefits and focuses more on cutting 'unnecessary' spending and reining in subsidies and other negative taxes.

And while compliance with international obligations is essential, it cannot come at the cost of our nation's development, which has already been stunted by budget shortfalls.

Instead of using crafty accounting to manage the overall budget deficit, it would be better if the government chose practicality over ambition and actually presented a budget that it could deliver.