The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has stated that the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of Pakistan is unaffordable and should be reassessed with the total cost to complete projects in the PSDP is Rs 10.7 trillion, more than 14 times the budget allocation of Rs. 727 billion in 2022-23. F If the annual PSDP budget remains the same and no new projects are added, it will take approximately 14 years to complete the existing approved projects. However, in practice new projects continue to be added at a significant rate. “Notwithstanding intentions to prioritise the completion of ongoing projects, new projects with a total cost Rs. 2.3 trillion were added by government in the last budget. In addition, the separate preparation and oversight of the current budget and the development budget, by Finance Division the Planning Commission respectively, can lead to inconsistent and sub-optimal decision making,” said the Fund in its latest report “Pakistan: Technical Assistance Report–Public Investment Management Assessment–PIMA and Climate PIMA”. (Business Recorder)
18/11/2023