April 27, 2006	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 28, 1427

KARACHI, April 26: A lot of firework is expected in the next meetings of the Annual Planning Coordination Committee (APCC) and the National Economic Council (NEC) sometimes next month as political leadership of the provinces will find an occasion to vent their extreme frustration and disappointment on the decision taken by the CDWP to stop federal financing or co-financing for the development projects of the provinces from next fiscal year.

In Karachi there is a strong feeling in the political leadership that the Central Development Working Party (CDWP), a body entirely of the civil servants, is not competent to take a decision which has far reaching political implications. The decision is being implemented from the next fiscal year which is crucial because the next general elections are around. This can become a burning political issue for the opposition.

“Such an issue can be taken up only at the NEC where the political chiefs of all the provinces are present to argue it before the prime minister,” a well placed source said on Wednesday.

In its January 21 meeting the CDWP took a decision that due to increase in share of provinces from the federal divisible pool in the new NFC award, no provincial nature of project will be financed or co financed from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP).” This decision was conveyed by the Planning and Development division to al the provinces in first week of February.

Interestingly, the agenda circulated by the CWDP for January 21 meeting did not contain any point to discuss the issue of stopping federal financing and co-financing for the provincial development projects. The planning and development division did not circulate any paper on this issue to enable the provinces to discuss the matter.

Provinces now apprehend that some of their new vital projects approved by the ECNEC and CDWP for full or co financing will be hit hard by the latest decision and these may not be incorporated in the 2006-07 PSDP.

“Without any federal assistance, the provincial government will not be able to launch any mega project in the future,” a well-placed source pointed out.

Provinces also find the CDWP decision at variance with the decision taken by the mid-term NEC meeting held in March last year to discuss the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF). In that meeting the participants were informed that no formula would be applicable for sanctioning of the federal development schemes located in various provinces.

At present, Balochistan is the highest recipient of the federal assistance in development because of the political compulsions which are bound to remain unchanged for next few years. Any comparison on provincial basis for federal allocations in various sectors is being considered irrelevant and inappropriate as requirements in each sector for every province varies.

The provinces are being promised additional funds of Rs51 billion under the NFC award announced by President General Pervez Musharraf after the political leadership of the provinces and the federal government failed to reach a consensus. The provinces have been given Rs68 billion under the existing PSDP of 2005-06.