ISLAMABAD, Dec 13: The International Monetary Fund wants Pakistan to accelerate the implementation on structural reforms.
“The fast implementation on structural reforms and recent macroeconomic developments are our major topics of discussion with the Pakistani authorities”, Mr Milan Zavadjil, head of the visiting four-member IMF review mission, said on Saturday.
He said he has discussed a number of issues with the government officials, including Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain and National Reconstruction Bureau’s Chairman Daniyal Aziz, adding that talks would continue till next Wednesday.
Another detailed round of talks with the finance minister and his team would also take place, he added. The mission arrived here on Dec 6 and would leave for Washington by Dec 17.
Asked what were the concerns of the IMF and which areas needed to be focused for improving the overall economy, he said, “I may not be in position to talk about it unless I wrap up my meetings with ... Pakistani officials by Wednesday next”.
Nevertheless, sources said that the IMF wanted further reduction of the fiscal deficit while increasing social and poverty-related expenditures. But this job, the mission believed, would be achieved through higher CBR revenue collection by broadening the tax base and by removing leakages from the organisation.
The mission, sources said, also believed that the state sector corporations’ performance needed to be monitored to make them economically viable, if they could not be divested in the near future. The issue of rampant corruption in the public sector entities was also raised by the mission.
Sources said that the IMF also did not believe that the abuse of “benami” practices could be curbed without the provinces’ close inter-action with the relevant stackholders such as Bar associations, chambers of commerce and industry/trade associations, agricultural associations and the real estate sector.
While the mission wanted a rapid increase in the CBR revenues, the authorities believed that there existed teething problems with the introduction of the self-assessment scheme and that substantial expansion of the GST could be possible in 2004- 05.
NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz told this correspondent that he has briefed the IMF mission on Saturday about a number of things including the issues facing the finalization of the new National Finance Commission award. “I told the mission leader that NRB is for 50-50 shares of the provinces and the Centre in the new NFC formula”, he said adding that bureaucracy was opposing him for proposing increased shares for the provinces.
