PESHAWAR: Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Ghulam Ali has asked the federal government to release the arrears to the province while keeping its growing financial hardships.

He was talking to Federal Caretaker Minister for Finance, Shamshad Akhtar at the Ministry of Finance in Islamabad, said an official handout issued here on Thursday.

In the meeting, matters related to the financial crisis facing the province, making the province financially stable and increasing revenue were discussed. The Governor informed the Federal Minister of Finance about the problems due to the non-release of funds for the merged districts.

He said that due to the non-release of funds, the people of the province, including the adjoining districts, are facing serious problems. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is currently facing a severe financial crisis. The province even does not have funds to pay salaries to government employees.

The governor said that the public sector universities of the province are also suffering from financial deficit, saying 35% increase in the salaries of the university employees will increase the burden of Rs5 billion.

He said that taking into account the increasing financial difficulties of the federal province ensure the payment of the arrears of the province. Funds should also be given to the local bodies of the merged districts so that the development process can start.

The governor further said that the money was paid in the province’s cheap auto scheme on the assurance of the Prime Minister, but the province has not received that money yet.

The caretaker federal finance minister Shamshad Akhtar said that the federation is well aware of the financial problems of the province.

She said that on the direction of the Prime Minister, the finance secretary is holding a meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regarding the financial problems.

She assured the governor that they will leave stone unturned to find solution to the financial problems of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including its newly merged districts.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023

Comments

Comments are closed.