Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar has said that efforts are being made to finalise the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award by Dec 31. "However, a concrete date for its finalisation cannot be given. There are some issues that need to be ironed out, which include improving conditions in FATA area after its merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). The whole nation is committed to accelerating development work in FATA," he expressed these view while talking to media persons here on Friday after the conclusion of the 5th meeting of the 9th NFC.
He also disclosed that in the forthcoming federal and provincial budgets, coordination between the federation and provinces on tax issues will be improved. He observed that in the last few years, especially after the Seventh NFC Award, the centre-province coordination on tax issues had weakened. "Now we want to improve this in the coming budgets," he added.
Talking about the meeting, he said that it reviewed the progress of tasks assigned to the six working groups which were constituted during the first meeting in February. He observed that it is encouraging to note that out of the six working groups, each one would be coordinated by the federal government, KPK and Punjab while two groups would be coordinated by Balochistan. "The meeting responded to the questions posed by the federation and provinces and took into consideration suggestions given by them and also decided future line of action. All the participants had developed a consensus that an improvement should be brought into the NFC Award and no province should be deprived of its share," he added.
Member NFC Sindh Asad Saeed told the media that the meeting developed a consensus that no province should be deprived of its share. "In future, the NFC meetings will be held in cordial atmosphere," he added.
Member NFC Balochistan Mehfooz Ali Khan said that expenditures in Balochistan has increased manifold due to terrorism and security issues and added that there is a need to formulate a mechanism to bring Balochistan at par with other provinces.
KPK Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra said that improvements will be effected in the NFC Award in line with the suggestions of the provinces. "The whole country will contribute to the development of FATA," he added. Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Javan Bakhat said that the whole process to finalise the NFC Award is running smoothly. He further said that all the federating units are carrying positive spirit to protect the interest of the federation and the 9th NFC Award will be beneficial for the centre as well as the provinces.
He stressed that both the federation and provinces are playing an equally important role in the development and prosperity of Pakistan while a strong federation guarantees stability of the provinces. "All the members carry equal weight in finalising the Award and I am sure that the provinces will put forth workable recommendations while keeping in mind mutual interests and respect for each others'' point of views," he added.
Meanwhile, according to a ministry''s spokesperson, the fifth meeting of the 9th NFC was held here with Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar in the chair. The six sub-groups, formulated during the first meeting in February, gave presentation on various aspects of resources distribution as per the terms of reference assigned to the groups. The main focus of all sub-groups'' deliberations was transparency, harmonization and sharing of data.
The members of the commission appreciated the work done by the six sub-groups in their first meetings. It was agreed that the sub-groups would continue their deliberations and present their reports in the subsequent meetings. The Chairman suggested that deliberations should also include incentives for poverty alleviation and social sector spending.
The representative of government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa proposed a framework for NFC deliberations aimed at equalizing fiscal resources across federating units, equal access to public services for all citizens of Pakistan and expenditure efficiency at all levels of the federation. All members agreed on the framework and lauded the efforts of the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in this regard.
The Chairman emphasized the importance of a well deliberated and consensus-based National Finance Commission Award and said that all federating units shared a huge responsibility in that regard. The meeting agreed to make efforts to finalize the NFC Award by December 31. It was also agreed to hold the next meeting before end of April which would focus on FATA and the taxation aspects of ease of doing business.
The Chairman reiterated that provincial governments will be engaged in the fiscal related discussion with the IMF. He also suggested that each federating unit should nominate a focal person for data sharing to facilitate the working sub-groups. He also underscored the need for strengthening NFC Secretariat and said that necessary measures would be taken in that regard. Technical members from Sindh and KPK volunteered to submit a proposal in this regard.
Later, the members of 9th National Finance Commission led by Federal Finance Minister Asad Umar called on Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar. KPK Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra, Punjab Finance Minister Hashim Javan Bakhat, Members of Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh provinces, including Salman Shah, Mehfooz Ali Khan, and Asad Saeed were present on the occasion. The Chief Minister welcomed the members of the Commission to Punjab. He said the meeting of the working group for the NFC Award is a good omen. He also said that progress on the NFC Award will promote national solidarity and inter-provincial harmony.