Fiscal year 2014-15: Only 43% of ADP funds utilised

Seven depts failed to meet targets as third quarter whizzed by.

PESHAWAR: As the third quarter of the fiscal year 2014-15 came to an end on March 31, the Annual Development Programme (ADP) fund utilisation by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government comes as an anti-climax to claims made by the ruling parties.

Most departments are still to make the most of the prized treasure chest at a time when the government has already stepped into the final quarter before the fiscal year’s curtain call on June 30.

Tight purse strings

The labour, mines and minerals, industries, science and technology, health, relief and rehabilitation and social welfare departments have all failed to meet fund utilisation targets in nine months.

However, departments such as agriculture and forestry have racked up 74% and 65% respectively on the utilisation table. Roads and higher education departments stand third and fourth, having used 63% and 62% of the money respectively.

The figures certainly do not echo Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s announced target of achieving 100% utilisation of ADP funds in the ongoing fiscal year, said a planning and development department official.

(Not) hitting the bullseye

In total, Rs139.8 billion was available in the government’s kitty at the start of the fiscal year, including Rs39.75 billion of foreign aid. As of now, approximately Rs60 billion has been utilised.

“We focused on utilising the local component first and so far we have used 44% of the amount,” another government official told The Express Tribune.

The official claimed the department-wise breakdown of ADP utilisation is solely from the local component. “We have asked the departments to gauge their spending for the remaining quarter by the end of this week,” he said.

Ideally 95% of the money should be used by the end of June, he added. At the current pace, that aim seems highly unlikely, he said.

“The departments which are not doing well (making or spending money) are in fact those that are meant to generate revenue for the government exchequer,” he said. “If the revenue-generating sectors malfunction, the government will not be able to perform.”

In high spirits

Talking to The Express Tribune, planning and development secretary Syed Zafar Ali Shah disagreed and said the government is well on course to meet its targets.

Shah added Rs13 billion has been diverted from low-performing projects to high-performing ones. Backing his statement with comparative analysis, Shah said the government is 10% ahead of its utilisation position when compared with the same period in the previous fiscal year. The secretary maintained despite the odds, ADP utilisation will hit 90-95% before the final whistle.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 16^th, 2015.