ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is expected to invite provincial finance ministers soon to resume negotiations on the sixth National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
Informed sources told Dawn that the finance ministry had been asked to get prepared for a fresh round of discussions on the NFC since the new prime minister wants to deliver results on key financial issues.
The proposed meeting will be followed by formal negotiations on the issue in which non-official provincial members will also take part. These sources said that the government had also updated the International Monetary Fund review mission on the matter.
The IMF team is currently in the country to hold discussions on the ninth review under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility. The completion of the review would enable Pakistan to draw about $250 million worth of the last tranche of the PRGF by late September.
The sources said the prime minister wanted to resolve pending economic issues with provinces in a 'relax environment' so as to base next budget on the new resource distribution formula.
The negotiations on the sixth NFC award had stalled in the first week of June when the federal government and three provinces had refused to accept Sindh's demand for inclusion of revenue in the multi-factor resource distribution formula.
The IMF mission has also been briefed about the privatization programme. The government has set up a committee to finalize a restructuring plan for the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd before its privatization. The report of the committee would determine whether to unbundle the PTCL or take it to the market as one entity.
The sources said that the government would soon hold a conference with bidders on the privatization of the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation. The bidders have already been asked to submit a comprehensive investment plan for the post-privatization period.
The government has estimated that the buyer will have to invest up to $400 million in the KESC. The IMF mission has been briefed about the financial restructuring plan of the KESC.