Rs5 Trillion spent illegally on Provincial subject...

Summary

• Islamabad:  The federal government has spent more than Rs5 trillion on provincial subjects and ministries dealing with matters assigned to the Council of Common Interests (CCI), despite the 18th Constitutional Amendment transferring these responsibilities to the provinces, according to a report of the Auditor General of Pakistan presented before a Senate subcommittee.
• He said federal ministries could only seek funds for responsibilities assigned to the federal government under the Constitution and questioned the legal basis for spending on provincial subjects.
• The committee was also informed that the CCI and Cabinet Division had already sent proposals to the Prime Minister for abolishing 24 federal ministries and institutions to reduce government expenditure.

AI Generated Summary

Islamabad:  The federal government has spent more than Rs5 trillion on provincial subjects and ministries dealing with matters assigned to the Council of Common Interests (CCI), despite the 18th Constitutional Amendment transferring these responsibilities to the provinces, according to a report of the Auditor General of Pakistan presented before a Senate subcommittee.

The massive spending has raised serious questions about the use of taxpayers’ money, constitutional violations and the continued existence of federal ministries that the committee believes should have been abolished after the 18th Amendment.

Senator Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro, convenor of the Senate Sub Committee on Devolution, said the federal government was spending around Rs19 trillion while the country’s total tax and non tax revenue stood at approximately Rs20 trillion.

He said Pakistan’s borrowing had reached $135 billion, leaving little financial space for provincial governments and development projects.

Referring to the Auditor General’s report, the convenor said more than Rs5 trillion had been spent on devolved provincial subjects and ministries created for CCI matters. He described the expenditure as a serious misuse of taxpayers’ money and questioned the legal authority under which the federal government continued spending on subjects assigned to the provinces.

He said the amount was equivalent to more than $18 billion, while Pakistan had received around $15 billion from the International Monetary Fund during the last 15 years.

The senator argued that the country had spent more money on these federal ministries and institutions than the IMF assistance received during the same period.