Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Wednesday said the incumbent government was making its best possible efforts to create a balance between available resources and existing expenditures aimed at avoiding the debt quagmire.
“Without creating this balance, it will be impossible to come out of it, if stuck,” the minister said in a televised address during a meeting he chaired on projects executed under the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP).
He said if the development budget relied on borrowed money, it was the responsibility of everyone to ensure its transparent utilization, without allowing any leakage or misuse.
Ahsan Iqbal directed all Principal Accounting Officers to exercise zero tolerance against any leakage or misuse of the resources allocated for development projects. “Funds must be utilized for their intended purpose,” he stressed.
Regarding the incorporation of development projects in the next PSDP, the Planning minister instructed the relevant authorities to review the development portfolio and prioritize ‘advanced stage’ projects that have completed 70 percent of their work.—APP
