Out of the total amount of Rs 160 billion, allocated in the budget 2009-10 for the Annual Development Programme, the Punjab government intends to enhance the ADP utilisation by Rs 130 billion that is above 80 percent of the total allocation.
The provincial government could not utilise 100 percent of the ADP funds last year that stayed at around 70 percent of the total ADP outlay. With a view to improve utilisation of the ADP funds in the next budget, the Punjab Finance Department has planned to review and audit the performance of all the departments on quarterly basis.
Punjab Minister for Finance, Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, disclosed this while speaking at the post budget seminar organised by the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICAMP). Deputy Collector Sales Tax, Syed Mahmood ul Hassan, Principal Hailey College of Banking and Finance, Professor Dr Khawaja Amjad Saeed, ICAMP Honorary Secretary, Shahzad Ahmad Awan, Chairman Lahore Branch Council, Muhammad Imran Afzal and others made their presentations on the topic.
He said that Pakistan has long been experiencing recessionary trends. Our cash strapped position caused by massive national debt has kept our economy at very low ebb. By increasing revenues and exports we could have salvaged the position, but things have never gone the way we have been planning. The ground reality is that we usually find it difficult to generate enough revenue and increase exports whereas the expenditure position has all along been getting inflated due to inflationary trends, he added.
The debt servicing eat up a whopping share of our current revenues. In spite of the fact that a lot of funds are arranged through deficit financing, still a very little is left for development and revenue expenditures. The government is alive to the deteriorating state of affairs and is in the process of taking a number of measures to put our financial and fiscal house in order, he maintained.
It is a common knowledge that there are a number of structural imbalances in our economic system, which needs to be addressed carefully. In this connection, we are planning to frame and implement home grown structural reforms to revive the economy. At present, we are in dire straits and in that connection we need assistance from home and abroad to solve our problems, the Minister said.
"We need soft term loans and grants, technical assistance from developed countries. It is necessary to enforce good governance in all the areas of our activities if we want to avoid roadblocks for a smooth journey of improvements. We are in the process of enforcing tax reforms and our trade policies are being upgraded" he added.
He was optimistic that the being taken would bring significant improvement in our systems and make the national environment congenial for investment and growth. The economy will understandably be revived in this way and poverty is expected to be alleviated as envisioned. To increase our revenues, the government is, however, determined to keep pressing forward these plans in future and hopefully we shall achieve our objectives in documenting the economy and broadening the tax over a period of time, he added.
He asked the professionals, particularly the management accountants to come to the government assistance for promoting tax culture in the society. If properly educated, the people will realise the benefit of paying tax. If the deteriorating trends are allowed to continue they are likely to drag us to erosion of total economic sovereignty and even national sovereignty, he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy Collector Sales Tax, Syed Mahmood ul Hassan said that national budget would go a long way in strengthening the economy, creating employment opportunities, bringing prosperity to the poor and improving the quality of life. He specially mentioned some of the salient feature of budget 2009-10. He said the present socio-economic problems demanded extra hard work from all of us.
Renowned economist, Professor Dr Khawaja Amjad Saeed Principal of Hailey College of Banking and Finance argued the budget was full of presumptive taxes and the unjust policy of relying on indirect taxation had continued over the past eight years. This would affect the masses, and promote consumer economy, he said.