PESHAWAR: (Aziz Buneri) Pakistan Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Muhammad Sohail Khan Afridi has penned a letter to Prime Minister, expressing grave apprehension at the failure of the federal government to dispose constitutionally agreed funds which as he puts it has plunged the province into a serious economic and administrative crisis.
The chief minister, in the letter, opined that the province has been severely hit by delays and partial payments made under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, net hydel profit, and oil and gas royalties as well as the development funds to the merged tribal districts, which adversely impact governance and the provision of public services in the province.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa according to the letter has a share of between 658.4 billion under the NFC Award but only 604 billion of this has been released till now and the remaining 54.4 billion is outstanding. Afridi cautioned that the increasing sum of money between the provincial government and federal government has created a situation whereby the provincial government can no longer afford the wage bills, development projects, and delivery of basic services.
He also indicated that the province is experiencing outstanding payments on net hydel profits and natural resource royalties, which continue to deteriorate the financial situation of the province, especially at the time when the security operations and rehabilitation of the merged districts still needs long-term funding.
The chief minister called upon the prime minister to get all the pending families out and guaranteed that all the pending payment should be made as soon as possible since timely payment is necessary to sustain the economy and fulfill the constitutional obligations to the provinces.
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