PBS faces challenges in finalising FY18 economic data

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) is facing an uphill task to get growth figure and other important economic indicators ready for the current fiscal of 2017/18 in absence of the two key financial wizards for almost a year: chief statistician PBS and member National Accounts Committee.

Sources, privy to the development, said on Wednesday PBS will have to finalise important economic indicators, especially growth figures of gross domestic product (GDP) without permanent chief statistician and member National Accounts into the fold of the PBS and at a time when the government is going to unveil the upcoming budget of 2018/19 next month.

Officials, however, are sure to come up with final data of the last fiscal year on time – an important prerequisite to an annual budget announcement.

Government has so far remained unable to find out any suitable candidate for filling the position of PBS head after Asif Bajwa completed his five-year term as chief statistician in July last year. Bajwa was rehired as consultant for six months for data compilation of population census.

PBS is already facing acute human resource constraints at a critical juncture when the PML (N) led government is all set to present the final budget of its tenure before the parliament on April 27.

Besides, as a stop gap arrangement the statistics division has given acting charge of chief statistician to Sajjad Akhtar who was hired as member economics statistics.

For the first time after PBS was established in 2010, the secretary statistics division has forwarded newly-devised rules to the establishment division as the important organisation was running without rules notified by the establishment division.

“The National Accounts Committee (NAC) is the competent forum comprising of federal and provincial ministries and department for finalising provisional estimates of GDP for an outgoing fiscal year,” an official said, adding that the NAC holds its meeting under chairmanship of chief statistician and finalises the GDP estimates.

Without finalising the GDP and other key indicators, it will become impossible for the planning and economic managers to finalise macroeconomic framework for presenting the next fiscal year’s budget of 2018/19.

Government has already scrapped the process of selecting new chief statistician for PBS for couple of times and now the official summary forwarded to the Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi asked for a permission to the statistics division to offer ‘negotiable salary and other perks and privileges’ to PhD degree holder in economics or statistics from any reputable university.

Previously, the selection committee comprising of different federal secretaries had found that none of the candidate possessed the required qualification and experience that forced them to recommend the government for scrapping the selection process.

There were also rumours doing round in the knowledgeable circles that former secretary statistics division Shujat Ali might be hired as chief statistician but he was not interested to join the bureau.

Presently, two important slots of chief statistician and member National Accounts have been falling vacant for the last several months and so far the government remained unable to find out a suitable candidate for the post.

Secretary Statistics Division Rukhsana Yasmeen said GDP growth figures would be finalised ahead of the upcoming budget.

Yasmeen confirmed that the rules for PBS were forwarded to the establishment division and would be notified soon after getting approval from the competent authority.

She added that they had given acting charge of Member National Accounts to Bahrawar Jan who holds PhD in statistics, and is currently working as director of National Accounts.

Jan, who joined PBS as deputy director general in 2009, had done his PhD with specialisation in survival analysis under indigenous PhD scholarship program and post-doctorate from Kent State University Ohio, USA. He did his M.Phil in 1999 and MSc statistics with gold medal in 1989 from the University of Peshawar.

Before joining PBS, Jan was attached with teaching and research as regular employee at the University of Peshawar for 19 years, holding last position as an associate professor in statistics. He published 26 research articles in journal of international repute.