PESHAWAR: The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA), a nongovernmental organisation, on Friday urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to expedite utilisation of funds for Annual Development Programme as it could only utilise 45 per cent with 25 days left to the end of the financial year.

According to a statement issued by CGPA here, of the total allocation of Rs139.80 billion under Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ADP for 2014-15, Rs124.1 billion has already been released.

Only Rs62.9 billion, which is 45 per cent of the ADP budget, has been utilised so far, said the statement quoting figures of the provincial finance department.

During a pre-budget media briefing on Thursday, finance secretary Said Badshah Bukhari had claimed 90 per cent of the provincial ADP would be utilised by the end of the current financial year.

The CGPA urged the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to expedite the utilisation of development funds to improve social indicators in the province and avoid transfer of one year’s budgetary allocations for public service delivery to the next.

Of the total of Rs19.9 billion development budget for elementary and secondary education, only Rs9.3 billion was used until June 5, the statement said.

NGO says better ADP spending to improve local social indicators

Despite the fact that almost 2.5 million children are out of schools in the province, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s inability to spend development budgets efficiently and effectively is adding to the gravity of educational challenges.

Allocation for roads was Rs17.3 billion in 2014-15 ADP.

The utilisation under the roads until June 5, 2015 was Rs7.4 billion, which is 43 per cent of total development budget for roads.

The regional development, which covers some discretionary funds, was given Rs16.4 billion.

The actual utilisation under regional development has been only Rs6.7 billion, which is 41 percent of the total development budget.

Similarly, Rs11.21 billion was given to health sector in 2014-15 ADP but only Rs3.7 billion, 34 percent of the total budget, was utilised until June 5, 2015.

The CGPA demanded that more funds be allocated for provision of medical equipment and medicine to hospitals to improve the performance of health sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Similarly development budget utilisation in the other sectors remained as agriculture 70 percent, Auqaf and religious affairs 43 percent, drinking water and sanitation 45 percent, energy and power 47 percent, environment 13 percent, finance 41 percent, food 17 percent, forestry 55 percent, higher education 59 percent, home 30 percent, housing 28 percent, industries 27 percent, information 59 percent, labour two percent, law and justice 47 percent, mines and minerals six percent, population welfare 36 percent, pro-poor special initiatives 27 percent, research and development 43 percent, social welfare 51 percent, sports, tourism and archeology 43 percent, science and technology and Information Technology 27 percent, transport 10 percent, urban development 55 percent, water 73 percent, utilisation under district ADP 63 percent and 24 percent under relief and rehabilitation.

CGPA programme manager Malik Masood demanded that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government ensure efficient and accountable mechanisms for improving ADP spending.

He said the provincial government had performed well in expediting the development process in fourth quarter but still, 55 percent funds had yet to be utilised with only 25 days left to the end of financial year 2014-15.

Masood urged the provincial government to start timely planning for utilisation of next year ADP.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015

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