Govt goes full throttle to utilise remnant ADP funds

Fearing shortchange by Centre, K-P hopes for increase in its own tax collection

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government claimed on Tuesday 93% of development funds from the current budget would be used by the end of the month.

During a briefing on the 2015-16 budget, Minister for Finance Muzaffar Said and Finance Secretary Syed Badshah Bukhari told the media quality would be ensured in all the schemes.

Journalists were told 82% of the total outlay of the 2014-15 Annual Development Programme had been utilised and work was continuing at a rapid rate. They said Rs21 billion of the ADP was still in the government’s hand, adding an average of Rs2 billion a day is consumed in the last month of a fiscal year. “The Planning and Development department has said 93% of the ADP will be used,” said Bukhari.



The finance minister first read the salient features of the fiscal budget for next year and later fielded questions. He said the total volume of the Rs487.884 billion budget was 21% more than FY2014-15.

Taxation conundrums

The tax revenue from the federal government was Rs53 billion less than expected.

“As far as K-P’s own collection is concerned, the province is targeting Rs55billion in tax receipts, some 86% more than the outgoing year. This includes expectations of Rs14 billion in [receipts] from the housing sector and Rs8 billion from the Environment and Forestry department,” added Said.

“The government will not allocate funds for ministers and parliamentarians, but rather for development projects,” he said. “The schemes will get funds in every constituency without prejudice.”

“It is the policy of the government that funds are not given to MPAs,” Bukhari who flanked the minister quipped in. “Schemes get funds.”

Speaking about tax rates, the minister said the province would only receive Rs270 million from the increase introduced in the budget which is a mere fraction of its total expectations.

Debt

The total volume of debt in the province is Rs121 billion of which Rs5 billion are owed to the federal government. The rest are foreign loans.

“We pride ourselves on the fact that our debt volume is less than that of other provinces,” said the secretary. He added the loans were taken on a standard mark-up set by the donor, adding it was much less than the money borrowed during the 1990s at a 17-18% mark-up. “The provincial government has decreased allocations for certain heads which would be paid as the markup,” he said. “The amount set aside for this purpose was Rs7.20 billion.”

All for development

Although the government did not announce any mega projects in the budget, Rs1 billion was allocated for the uplift of Peshawar and its surrounding areas and the same amount was also set aside for water supply and sanitation in the city. The budget also earmarked funds for an elevated U-turn for traffic management in the provincial capital.

The frugal life

The government imposed complete bans on the travel of politicians abroad for treatment and the purchase of vehicles. However, the chief minister has the authority to relax these regulations in special cases.

The budget is again dependent on a massive Rs68 billion which the provincial government is expecting from the Centre in the form of its net hydel profit share and arrears. Skeptics believe K-P may not get the amount which would only increase the budget deficit. However, the finance secretary was hopeful the matter would be resolved by the end of the year. “The provincial government has held meetings with the Centre and it has assured us of providing the arrears and uncapping the NHP.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2015.