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| June 15, 2005 | Wednesday | Jumadi-ul-Awwal 7, 1426 |
NWFP fails to spend Rs469 million development grants
PESHAWAR, June 14: The provincial government has failed to utilize over Rs469 million which foreign donors had extended to it as grant for development activities during 2004-05, according to official record. The International Development Association (IDA), European Economic Community (ECC), bilateral donors including the governments of Germany, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Norway and international organizations like the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (Unicef) had provided a total of Rs1236.581 million grant to the NWFP during the 2004-05 financial year. The funds were to be utilized for development activities and schemes aimed at poverty eradication in different parts of the province.
However, according to official sources, the province has not been able to utilize 100 per cent of these grants.
An amount of over Rs469 million remains unspent due to what the official circles described inefficiency on the part of the project executing agencies.
The provincial government is set to project its revised estimates - in respect of development expenditure against funds provided by foreign donors as grant - at Rs767 million, less by over Rs469 million than the total grant given by the donors during 2004-05 financial year.
Official figures say that the provincial government would end up utilizing an amount of Rs18 million against a grant of Rs303 million promised by the German government for promotion of primary education and primary health care in the province in addition to tuberculosis control programme.
Similarly, the province utilized Rs55 million out of Rs162 million pledged by ECC and Rs118 million out of Rs192 million promised by WFP for promoting safe motherhood and girls education.
Norwegian government had pledged to extend Rs232 million for a basic education project in the NWFP. But the government could use an amount of Rs156.8 million.
In one particular case the provincial government managed to spend much more than the amount it had been pledged. It has been projected to get Rs51 million grant from the United Kingdom during 2004-05. The revised estimates for the same period reflect that the province has actually spent Rs193 million on rural water-supply and sanitation sector, Lachi poverty reduction project, Sarhad rural support programme and NWFP primary education project against the grant money of Rs51 million.
Official sources said that this was not first time that the provincial government failed to utilize annual grants by 100 per cent. It had utilized a total of Rs648 million during the 2003-04 financial year against an amount of Rs755 million that had been promised as grant by foreign donors.
“The line departments and project executing agencies don’t have the capacity to ensure 100 per cent utilization of even those foreign aids which do not pose burden on its kitty,” said a finance manager of the province, adding that “in certain cases the departments resort to over commit at the beginning of the year and fail to deliver when it comes to translate deeds into action”.
Because of its ‘unimpressive’ performance during 2004-05, according to official sources, the NWFP has been pledged by foreign donors an amount of Rs856 million for 2005-06, which is Rs380 million less as compared to initially made projection for the current financial year.
UNDP would provide Rs51.9 million for national urban poverty alleviation programme and NWFP institutional reforms, Germany would extend Rs247 million for TB control, Switzerland Rs26 million, United Kingdom Rs98 million, WFP Rs166 million, IDA Rs54 million, Norway Rs161 million and Unicef Rs49 million.
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