The NWFP government on Wednesday asked the Federal government to help it get soft loans from open market to return the Federal government loans and to save the extra-amount being paid as mark-up. NWFP Senior Minister Siraj-ul-Haq made this demand during his welcome address in the concluding session of first-ever three-day NWFP international investment conference in which Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was the chief guest.
Siraj-ul-Haq said the provincial government was in a position to get loans on lower markup rate from the financial institutions and return the federal government debt, adding the remaining amount would be spent on development projects of the province.
The senior minister said the NWFP had Rs 61 billion federal government as debts while the outstanding amount of the NWFP government in the head of net-profit on hydel generation was Rs 345 billion. Similarly, according to the National Finance Commission (NFC) award of 1996, the Federal government had to pay Rs 84.4 billion to the province, he said.
He told the Prime Minister that poverty ratio in the NWFP was higher than other parts of the country, saying that in rural areas the proportion of the poverty was 44 percent, while in urban areas it was 31 per cent. The per capita income of the people in NWFP was also lower than other provinces, which were only Rs 746 per month, he added.
Siraj-ul-Haq, who also holds the portfolio of finance, said the better way to come out of such high ratio of poverty was the introduction of reforms in the fiscal management. Similarly, the other option was the seeking of share of the province under the Constitution of 1973, he said.
He said the NWFP government through immature debt retiring had paid Rs 10.136 billion internal and Rs 731 million foreign debts and thus saved a record handsome amount of Rs two billion.
Sirajul Haq said in the negotiations for NFC Award in 2004, the province flouted the proposal for distribution of natural resources on 50-50 percent ratio between federating units and federal government. However, the proposal was not accepted and the province had to face hardships in the preparation of its annual budget, he added.
Sirajul Haq said the provincial government had prepared a comprehensive plan for the industrial development, and the discoveries of the natural gas in district Karak had make it more attractive for the investors.