Pakistan has received only 11 percent ($819 million) of the budgeted $7.4 billion from multilateral and bilateral donors during the first four months of the current fiscal year, it is learnt. Official sources revealed to Business Recorder that the delay in foreign inflows is creating serious problems in terms of budgetary support and causing inordinate delay in implementation of projects.
The government budgeted more than $1.5 billion from Australia, Canada, the EU, France, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), Italy, Norway, Oman, Opec, UNDP, Bond Holder and Consortium of Commercial Banks for the current fiscal year; however no disbursements have been made under these heads so far, sources added. International Development Association (IDA) was expected to be the largest single donor with a budgeted inflow of $1.66 billion; however the country received about $50 million in the current fiscal year so far which is less than 4 percent of the budgeted estimates for the year. The US disbursed $15.56 million (4 percent) to Pakistan in the current fiscal year out of the total $357.5 million budgeted estimate for the current fiscal year 2014-15.
Officials maintain that some donors are reluctant to release the budgeted amount due to the prevailing political uncertainty in the country. Further, Pakistan has traditionally lacked absorption capacity and resultantly some bilateral and multilateral donors delay releases. However, officials anticipate that foreign assistance inflows will be better in the latter half of the current fiscal year.
The government has budgeted foreign assistance of $7.4 billion, including a $6.5 billion loan and $808.3 million grants, against a $5.7 billion budgeted estimate for the previous year. The country received over $700 million loans and about $113 million grants out of the total budgeted estimates of foreign assistance of $7.4 billion in the current fiscal year.
The country received about $179 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB), ie, 16 percent in the current fiscal year while a total of $1.092 billion has been budgeted from the Bank for the current financial year. China has disbursed about $315 million out of $1.462 billion budgeted for the current fiscal year, ie, 21 percent.
IDB (S-Term) disbursed $147 million out of $500 million (29 percent) budgeted for financial year 2014-15. Germany was budgeted to disburse $52.61 million in the current year and Pakistan has so far received $17.6 million. The country received $92 million from UK against a budgeted $246 million; Japan disbursed about $15 million (5 percent) during this period against the budgeted $255.39 million for the year while South Korea disbursed $7.5 million while Kuwait disbursed $4.05 million. Saudi Arabia disbursed $87.88 million against budgeted $245.7 million, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) gave $19.6 million against budgeted $204.31 million.
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