Doling out funds to lawmakers: SAP funds use makes up lion’s share of total uplift spending

ISLAMABAD: The spending on the politically motivated programme, known as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Achievement Programme (SAP), through parliamentarians has outpaced utilisation of funds on all remaining development schemes of ministries during the first four months of the current fiscal year.

Out of the Rs90 billion allocation made for the SAP programme, the government authorised Rs61 billion and utilisation of funds stood at Rs27.153 billion in the first four months (July-October) period during the current fiscal year. The total expenditures of all ministries for development projects stood at Rs64.1 billion. The expenditures under the SAP utilised the major chunk as it stood at Rs27.1 billion. If expenditure of other corporations and PM’s Initiatives included, then it stood at Rs76 billion. It was quite unique that the controversial SAP programme funding was released at the start of the current fiscal year so the authorisation stood at Rs61 billion, keeping in view the ceiling of funds approved by the Ministry of Finance to the tune of 20 per cent for the first quarter (July-Sept) period of the current fiscal year. Now the Ministry of Finance has also granted permission to release another 20 per cent for the second quarter (Oct-Dec) period. The government had allocated Rs950 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for the current fiscal year.

In order to restrict wasteful spending in the name of development programme, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had bound Pakistan for approving Public Investment Management Assessment (PIMA) and Climate PIMA report till end of December 2023. The government has prepared a summary and is all set to forward it to the prime minister and the federal cabinet for granting approval in order to cleanse the PSDP, under which over 200 provincial nature schemes, whereby spending was hovering around 50 per cent, would be deleted from the PSDP list.

Under the PIMA, the Centre would finance only nationally important development projects. The government will be bound to develop five-year development framework and there will be a criterion to include projects in the PSDP list.

Under the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act, approved by the parliament, the government was bound to include only those development projects in the PSDP which were approved by the relevant forums till March 31 in every financial year. However, the National Economic Council (NEC) had granted waiver to include unapproved projects in the PSDP for the current fiscal year. It is ironic that the PSDP included even those projects which were written that these were in the process of approval. The question arises how the NEC could grant approval in the presence of PFM law, approved by the parliament?

There is also need of ascertaining facts that there was duplication of projects included in the SAP programme and the same projects were included under flood assistance related projects in Balochistan and some other parts of the provinces. The Ministry of Planning data showed that the funding for special areas clinched second position on account of utilisation of funds as it stood at Rs25 billion. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Housing Ministry utilised slightly over Rs3 billion each. Then Pakistan Railways utilised Rs1.5 billion funds. It clearly indicated that all other ministries’ spending remained dismally low in the first four months of the current fiscal year. Among corporations, the NHA utilised Rs9 billion and NTDC/PEPCO Rs2.25 billion so far.