The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) caretaker cabinet has rejected a summary of advanced payment of salaries to employees due to lack of funds.
Earlier it had been proposed by the finance department to pay salaries and pension to government employees on 17th as per the standard practice but also sent a letter to the chief secretary, informing him that the advance salaries and pensions cannot be paid due to financial constraints.
The salaries and pension of April would be paid on May 1. Addressing the journalists, Caretaker Minister Information Barrister Feroz Jamal Kaka Khel said that the cabinet has approved the rules for the levy of sales tax on services as per the IMF condition.
“As per the rule if there is a religious festival in the last 10 days of month, employees are paid in advance but on 17th employees could not be paid. The overdraft of the province is Rs14 billion and Rs48 billion is required to pay the pension and salaries,” he said, adding that K-P only produces six per cent resources of its annual expenditures while Punjab produced 21 per cent and Sindh 24 per cent.
The Centre has to pay Rs62 billion under net hydal profit as a result the province faced Rs90 billion deficit, he claimed, saying that Centre has to pay K-P Rs240 billion, as a result the development expenditures are also being revised.
He said that 81 per cent targeted populations has been provided with free flour under Benazir Income Support Programme.
Background
The development projects in the newly merged tribal districts are also facing a delay due to non-availability of funds.
This was revealed during a visit of the sub-committee of the Standing Committee of Senate on States and Frontier Regions.
The sub-committee assured its support to the K-P government in taking funds for the province, especially the newly merged districts, stopped by the federal government.
The committee convener Senator Dr Sania Nishter and Senator Shameem Afridi suggested e-tendering, biometric attendance of government employees and introduction of GIS system for better monitoring of schemes.
Members of the sub-committee were briefed about the tribal districts’ development portfolio procedure and utilisation of funds.
Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Additional Chief Secretary Zubair Qureshi and other officials were present on the occasion.
Qureshi briefed the committee about the developmental schemes, expenditures, monitoring, preparation and mechanism in the merged districts.
He informed the committee that due to shortage of funds, the government was unable to carry out development work in the merged areas.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2023.
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