Vows pro-people, development-friendly budget
ISLAMABAD
The government will take all-out efforts and do whatever is necessary to restore the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail said this while speaking at ‘Meet the Press’ organised by National Press Club on Wednesday along with Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyuam Aurangzeb.
Miftah Ismail said the government can reduce public sector development spending with other necessary budgetary discipline arrangements. “We will restore the programme. If the government has to tighten its belt, it will do so,” he said, adding that no extra burden would be put on people.
He said the government will give a people-friendly and development-friendly budget despite all odds created by the PTI government. He expressed the hope that the value of rupee would not slide further while the markets would also perform well.
He said the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) had left growth rate at 6.1 percent which was reduced to 1.9 percent in first year of PTI government, negative one percent the following year and now this year the projection is 4 percent.
Likewise, he added, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation has gone up from 3.9 to 12.7 whereas the Sensitive Price Indicator has climbed up to 17.3 percent adding that the rural inflation has witnessed more hike than urban one, which is unusual.
He said the PML-N left 2.3 percent food inflation which has gone up to 10 percent in the year and 14 percent in March. Similarly, the budget deficit during the 5 years of PML-N tenure was recorded at Rs1,600 billion on average; however, during the current year it has been recorded at Rs5,600 billion.
Miftah said the tax collection has also been reduced from 11.1 percent of GDP to 9.1 percent whereas the debt which was Rs24,952.9 billion in PML(N) era has now risen to Rs42,735 billion till December 2021. He said that during these 3 and quarter to four years’ government, the PTI has taken more than Rs20,000 billion debt.
He said that from first Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan to Nasir-ul-Mulk, the total debt was recorded at Rs25,000 billion whereas Imran Khan took Rs20,000 billion debt in less than four years, an average of around Rs5500 billion. He said when PML-N took debt, the same was utilised to build energy plants, road infrastructure, dams and education promotion; however, no such utilisation was witnessed in the PTI government.
He said that rupee also devalued by Rs68 in the PTI regime whereas the PTI government took around $27 billion external debt, an average of $9 billion per year, adding that the average of taking debt was just $1 billion in the PML-N government.
He said that the PML-N government had lifted 20 million people out of poverty who were again thrown below the poverty line by the PTI regime. He said that exports increased only in value, not in quantity adding that imports too increased and are expected to reach historic high at $75 billion this year. So against the exports of $30 billion the trade ratio would be 1:2.5.
He said the current account deficit was also at $20 billion whereas the reserves have gone down to $10.8 billion. He said other than the power circular debt, the PTI regime has accumulated gas circular debt to 1.5 trillion. He said the government would constitute a commission to investigate urea smuggling.
