Reckless govt spending pushes Pakistan
On Wednesday, the government approved a 66% increase in the legislative discretionary budget, reaching a record $116 billion for the next fiscal year. The decision continued reckless fiscal policies that pushed Pakistan closer to default.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Coordination approved Rs 27.2 billion for additional assistance, and another Rs 5 billion was earmarked for discretionary spending by Members of Parliament. Most of the remaining funding is also allocated to projects recommended by legislators. Besides, the ECC approved a grant of Rs 6 crore for 150% pay for class 17 to 22 officers in the revenue department.
Federal Revenue Council (FBR) chairman Asim Ahmad signed the summary as secretary of the revenue department, seeking more budgets for the benefit of the elites. It seems that the government is ignoring the restructuring of the International Monetary Fund. It was spending in complete violation of the agreement reached with the IMF in February this year, which aimed to limit the primary deficit to just 0.5% of GDP.
For the next fiscal year, the federal budget deficit is now projected to be Rs 6.4 trillion or 8.1% of gross domestic product (GDP), exceeding the target of Rs 4.5 trillion. The government had earlier allocated Rs 70 crore in the MPs’ plan for the current financial year, an amount that proved insufficient due to competing requests for additional funds from 13 coalition parties.
With the recent approval, the total expenditure of the scheme has increased to Rs 116 crore in the coming fiscal year, representing a two-thirds increase of Rs 46 crore. In an apparently misleading statement, the ECC was told that the planning ministry had surplus funds that could be diverted to legislative initiatives.
