The challenge of circular debt

National Assembly’s finance standing committee has been told by the government that Rs436 billion will be added to the country’s circular debt in the ongoing fiscal year alone. By June 30, 2021, therefore, the total stock of circular debt will soar to Rs2.6 trillion. These statistics constitute our successive governments’ approach to circular debt. Circular debt is commonly defined as a public debt which is a cascade of unpaid government subsidies. In my view, however, circular debt is the sum total of corruption, inefficiencies and lack of accountability. The government has done little or nothing in its ongoing five-year tenure in this regard so far. It will not be able to put off confronting the circular debt challenge on a continuing basis. For a stable economy, burgeoning circular debt is simply out of the question.

Shahid Khanzada (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021