Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muzaffar Said said that rulers in Islamabad are intentionally trying to paralyse Khyber Pakhtunkhwa economically and push the people and the government of KP against the wall.
“Our political elite and media has to raise Islamabad’s conscience against injustices meted out to us, otherwise it may be too late to rectify,” he added and reiterated firm commitment of his government to take concrete steps for elimination of corruption, reinvigorating the accountability process, and strengthening the institutions.
Addressing a pre-budget consultation seminar at Cabinet Room of Civil Secretariat Peshawar, he said the province was facing numerous challenges in making budget for the next financial year, which included huge expenditures incurred on militancy. He listed terrorism, Afghan refugees, IDPs, high dependence on federal tax collection, non-payment of net-hydel profit (NHP), delay in 9th NFC Award, and meager local fiscal resources and taxes as the challenges currently being faced by the KP government.
He said their priorities for the new budget’s preparation include continuity of reforms and development of human resources and the social sector. Increasing employment opportunities, energy generation, exploiting natural resources, improving security and law and order as well as institutionalising the local government system to enable the government to deliver to the masses are also among our priorities, he added.
Said said that we did not expect social grants or any other favours from our federation, except to give us our due rights in time and avoid meting step-motherly attitude with us. However, he said it was in its own larger interest to promptly transfer us our dues required for budget making. He said the damages of infrastructure due to terrorism, militancy, floods, earthquakes and other natural calamities, coupled with increasing ratio of poverty and unemployment in the province was an open secret. He cautioned that history would not forgive the federal government if it kept its eyes closed and intentionally ignored the KP government to tackle these chronic issues of the province alone.
