This is apropos a Business Recorder op-ed ‘Impediments to a viable economy’ carried by the newspaper yesterday. The writers, Huzaima Bukhari, Dr Ikramul Haq and Abdul Rauf Shakoori, have presented an informed perspective on the federal budget and the country’s overall economy. They have pointed out, among other things, that “The budget has a financial footing of a whopping Rs 14.46 trillion that is 51% higher than last year.

The government’s revenues, like earlier budgets, will fail to generate resources that are sufficient to correspond with the estimated expenditures. Hence, the government is anticipating a monstrous fiscal deficit of Rs 7.573 trillion. It is interesting to note that this amount is almost 80% of last year’s total budget outlay.”

Be that as it may, it is important to note that the government has set a 3.5 percent economic growth target in the FY2023-24 budget, which appears to be highly unrealistic owing to a variety of reasons.

Needless to say, the country has achieved a mere 0.29 percent growth due to a deep economic slump in the fiscal year ending on June 30 2023. That is why perhaps the federal budget has attracted criticism from the leading global rating agency Moody’s that has strongly disputed government’s GDP growth target for next year.

It has clearly spelled out the downsides that have been plaguing the country’s economy and the flaws in the overall direction of the budget. The government must take into account what these writers and the rating agency have proposed or recommended before the approval of the finance bill 2023 by the National Assembly.

Hassan Abbas (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023