ISLAMABAD:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s Ramzan aid package remained underfunded after the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Thursday approved Rs6 billion less than the required money due to “fiscal prudence”.
As against the total requirement of Rs29 billion to distribute Rs13,000 per family among selected 2.1 million families and operating expenses, approved ECC funds worth Rs23.5 billion, the details released by the Finance Ministry after the meeting showed.
The ECC did not accept the request of the Poverty Alleviation and Social Security Department for approval of the required funds of Rs 25 billion. The finance ministry informed the ECC that only Rs 19 billion of the already budgeted amount should be approved while maintaining a balance between the relief and fiscal prudence.
The ECC processed a summary submitted by the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Security for approval of funds of Rs 25 billion for the Prime Minister’s Ramzan relief package, according to the Finance Ministry statement.
“The finance department informed the committee that Rs19 billion had already been budgeted for the Ramzan package for the current financial year and the remaining requirement would be released as and when required”, it added.
The ECC therefore approved the immediate release of Rs19 billion to enable speedy commencement of disbursement, while accepting that any additional funds would be considered in accordance with the changing requirements and available financial space, the finance ministry said.
The government announced in the national press on Thursday that the Prime Minister had approved the Rs 38 billion Ramzan relief package.
However, Rs38 billion is inclusive of Rs10 billion which is linked to the relief package but is essentially part of Pakistan’s commitments with the international lenders to annually increase the stipend for Benazir’s income support program beneficiaries.
The ECC’s decision to approve and disburse funds in tranches may delay the intended benefits as the government’s plan was to immediately release Rs13,000 to 2.1 million identified families.
With the approval of Rs19 billion against the Ramzan package budget allocation and an additional Rs3.5 billion through recycling, the Poverty Alleviation Department is now short about Rs6 billion, according to the government officials. They said the choice would be either to reduce the number of beneficiaries or the cash lump sum, or the Ministry of Finance shows willingness to host the remaining amount.
The finance ministry claimed that Rs29 billion has been arranged through three components assessed by the ECC, including the technical supplementary grant, operational expenditure and the regularization of re-allocated funds. The ministry argued that this funding structure ensures that the package is fully resourced while maintaining fiscal discipline and transparency in implementation.
But despite adding these three components, the Prime Minister’s package was still underfunded by Rs 5.5 billion.
A senior finance ministry official said there would be a constant pre- and post-audit of selected beneficiary databases through various checks.
