ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has expressed concerns over slow release of funds for Public Sector Development Programmes (PSDP) due to which pace of work on many developmental projects has badly suffered and cost of projects has escalated manifold.
Muzzamil Hussain Sabri, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that as per laid down procedure, government was required to release 70 percent of the total development funds in the first nine months of current fiscal year, however, it released only 51 percent of funds to PSDP projects due to which work on many projects suffered and economy could not pick up pace for better development.
He said by releasing only Rs 271 billion instead of Rs 367.5 billion during first three quarters of this fiscal year, government seemed to have preferred to achieve fiscal deficit target agreed with IMF instead of focusing on developmental activities, which was not a right approach.
Muzzamil Sabri said it was unfortunate that whenever, country needed belt tightening, instead of controlling non-development expenditures, making a cut in development spending was preferred. However, he said this approach has cost the country dearly as it caused delays in the completion of development projects and massive cost overruns leading to negative implications for the economy.
He was of the view that Public Sector Development Program plays crucial role in multiplying benefits for an economy as it promotes business activities, industrialization, investment, employment creation and takes the country towards higher scales of development while low spending on development slows down the pace of overall economy. He stressed upon the government to give high priority to PSDP and ensure full utilization of allocated funds for development projects, which will greatly help the country to come out of current problems and achieve sustainable economic growth.
