PESHAWAR, Sept 24: The NWFP government would shortly initiate a move to revamp its annual development programme (ADP) for the current financial year in line with a precondition set by the World Bank for the release of the second tranche of US $90m under its structural adjustment credit (SAC) facility to the province, official sources say.

“The World Bank has recently asked the provincial government to cut the number of new development schemes to reduce its throw-forward liabilities,” said an official of the provincial government.

The lone precondition for the release of the second SAC tranche was conveyed to the provincial authorities in their meetings with the bank’s wrap-up mission at Peshawar on Sept 18, according to the sources.

Another finance manager of the provincial government privy to the WB mission’s meetings with the provincial chief minister Akram Khan Durrani and finance minister Siraj-ul-Haq claimed that this single issue (the NWFP’s swollen throw-forward liabilities) was the only obstacle the government would need to clear to get the tranche.

“Though the mission expressed satisfaction viz-a-viz the NWFP government’s performance in implementing the provincial reforms programme (PRP) in its first year of implementation, the bank is still not comfortable with the number of new development schemes covered under the 2003-04 financial year’s ADP,” said the officer.

The Rs14.69bn development programme of the province for the current financial year involves an all-time high number of over 1,300 schemes, including about 1,000 new development schemes, to be launched in different parts of the province.

According to the NWFP’s planning and development department the inclusion of such a large number of schemes would increase the provincial government’s throw-forward liabilities (the funds it would need to complete these schemes) to Rs26bn.

The wrap-up mission, said one of the official sources, had asked the provincial government to “re-prioritize” its current financial year’s ADP bringing down the number of new development schemes.

The government, he maintained, had been advised that instead of allocating paltry sums of money to so many new schemes, ADP should be ‘re-prioritized’ in a manner that each scheme should get a considerable amount and the schemes launched during the current financial year could be completed in a period of three years.

In fulfilment of this condition, the planning and development department, NWFP, would shortly initiate a move to revamp the ADP scrutinizing the new development schemes with an explicit purpose of excluding the less important schemes.

Out of about 1,000 new development schemes planned for the current financial year, over 300 schemes have been made part of the ADP on the special instructions of chief minister Durrani.

“Mr Durrani,” claimed an officer, “appears to be ready to cut down the number of schemes included on his insistence in a clear shift from his stand at the time of formulating the ADP back in June.”

The planning and development department, NWFP, experienced a major reshuffle at the top level after the chief minister got annoyed by a couple of top development planners who attempted to stop him from including so many new initiatives in the ADP.

The sources said that though the government had a sigh of relief after being communicated the bank’s willingness to continue financial support to PRP, the precondition set for the purpose appeared to be ‘too big a task’ for an under-staffed P&D department.

“The release of the second tranche and its schedule now depends on when the re-prioritized ADP is forwarded to the bank,” said a finance manager of the province.

The exercise is likely to shatter the provincial government’s efforts at make the bank release the $90m tranche in November or as early as possible.

The delayed disbursement of the money would apparently leave a negative effect on the current financial year’s ADP.

The NWFP’s 2003-04 financial year’s ADP includes a large component of new development schemes which would be executed with the financial resources to be provided by the World Bank under the SAC.

The government has a plan to divert Rs3.8bn — out of a total of Rs5.7bn SAC funding — to carry out development activities in health, education and other sub-sectors falling under the purview of social sector.