Only 45pc of annual KP development budget utilised till June: CGPA
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has utilised only 45 per cent of total Annual Development Programme (ADP) funds allocated to the province with less than a month left till the close of fiscal year 2014-2015 (FY14-15), a press release from the Centre for Governance and Public Accountability (CGPA) revealed.
Of the total KP ADP allocation of Rs139.8 billion, only Rs62.9bn had been utilised as of June 5, 2015 ─ despite the release of Rs124.1bn in ADP funds.
Education
Only Rs9.3bn of the total development budget of Rs19.9bn for elementary and secondary education had been utilised as of June 5.
The CGPA says 2.5 million children are out of school in the province, and that the KP government's inability to spend the development budget is exacerbating the situation.
Roads
The utilisation of the budget allocation for roads in 2014-2015 was Rs17.3bn, of which Rs7.4bn or 43pc was utilised by June 5.
Regional development
Approximately 41pc of the regional development budget or Rs6.7bn of Rs16.4bn was utilised. The budget covers some discretionary funds.
Health
Of the Rs11.2bn allocated for health in the ADP 2014-2015, only Rs3.7bn or 34pc of the total allocation was utilised by June 5. The CGPA demanded that more funds for the provision of medical equipment and medicine to hospitals be allocated, which it said could improve the performance of KP's health sector.
The CGPA noted that although the provincial government had done well at expediting development during the fourth quarter, 55pc of funds for the year were yet to be utilised.
The CGPA urged the KP government to expedite utilisation of budget funds under the ADP in order to improve social indicators in the province and to avoid transfer of allocated money for public service delivery to next year.
CGPA Programme Manager Malik Masood demanded the KP government "ensure efficient and accountable mechanisms in order to improve ADP spending".
Speaking to DawnNews, KP Finance Minister Muzaffar Syed said that by June 30, 70-90pc of the ADP budget will have been utilised. He added that the hiring of consultants for projects, as well as the creation of feasibility reports had caused delays and under-utilisation of the budget.