Pakistan

Geneva flood pledges: Pakistan receives only $1.48bn of $10.9bn

Published

8 months ago

Farwa

Only $780m disbursed in project financing as of Sep 2023.
Govt receives roughly $700m in oil and commodity financing.
Saudi Arabia so far disbursed $600 million as an oil facility.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has, to date, received only $1.48 billion in funding from both multilateral and bilateral creditors as part of the Geneva pledges totaling $10.9 billion designated for the reconstruction of areas affected by devastating floods last year, The News reported on Wednesday.

The progress of project financing, however, has been alarmingly slow, with just $780 million disbursed as of September 2023. Pakistan endured severe flooding in the previous fiscal year, resulting in extensive human and financial hardships, but there was hope for rehabilitation, as donors committed $10.9 billion in the form of loans to support the reconstruction endeavors.

Islamabad, too, has successfully obtained approximately $700 million in oil and commodity financing. Nevertheless, it is an undeniable fact that the distribution of project loans has remained frustratingly sluggish, necessitating swift action from all federal and provincial agencies responsible for pulling off flood-related projects in their respective regions. Therefore, accelerating these efforts is imperative.

“The caretaker prime minister has also taken notice of this slow disbursement of committed pledges as the project loan acceleration depends upon the executing agencies’ ability to implement the projects on a fast-track basis,” a top official of the government confided to The News here on Tuesday.

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) had committed $3.6 billion on account of commodity financing, out of which $1.1 billion was planned to be disbursed on an annual basis over a year. Out of $3.6 billion, there was a planned disbursement of $300 million, which was underway during the current fiscal year.

However, the remaining $3.3 billion was still problematic because it was syndicated financing, which the IsDB planned to secure from other commercial banks. So far, there are indications that its interest rate might exceed and fall into a range of over 10%.

However, the oil-exporting giants argued before the government that if they secured local funding, it would be on the much higher side, keeping in view the higher interest rates in the domestic market.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has so far disbursed $600 million as an oil facility out of total financing committed for commodities and oil financing. The government has heavily relied on the disbursements of project loans from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. From the World Bank loans, there are projects going to be executed in Sindh and Balochistan for the construction of housing and agriculture sectors.

The premier is expected to chair an important meeting to review progress on donor-funded projects for flood-affected areas after his return from abroad, as one of such important meetings got postponed last week before his recent departure to the USA.

The implementation of flood-affected area projects needs acceleration in order to materialise maximum disbursements from the pledged loans, but without improving bottlenecks at execution levels, this wish will remain just a pipe dream.

Business

Price of LPG “slashed” by Rs. 20 per kilogram

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Sources claim that LPG rates have been lowered by Rs 20, making the cost per kilogram drop from Rs 280 to Rs 260.

It is noteworthy to remark that the costs of LPG were reduced by Rs 20 per kilogram earlier, resulting in a total reduction of Rs 40 per kilogram within a few weeks.

The price of liquefied petroleum gas for the month of May 2024 was lowered by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on April 30.

The LPG tariffs were lowered by Rs 11.88 to Rs 238.46 per kilogram in accordance with the OGRA’s notice. On Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the new rates will go into effect.

In April of last year, the price per kilogram of LPG was Rs 250.34. pricing reduction of Rs 140.18 has resulted in a new pricing for home LPG cylinders set for May 2024 of Rs 2813.85.

The OGRA reported a drop in liquefied petroleum gas pricing in April. The price of LPG is now Rs 250.34 per kg instead of Rs 256.78 due to a reduction of Rs 6.44 per kg.

The price of the household cylinder was fixed at Rs 2954.03 for the month of April, down from Rs 3030.12, a decrease of Rs 76.9.

Business

ADB delegation stops by FBR headquarters

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Senior Director ADB Tariq Niazi oversaw the expedition, which also involved Sana Masood, Farzana Noshab, and Senior Public Sector Management Specialist Laisiasa Tora. The meeting included presentations from economists as well, according to an FBR press release.

The officers focused on structural and policy adjustments as they discussed the Domestic Resource Mobilization Program’s implementation at the meeting.

$300 million was given to the Pakistani government by ADB in December 2023 as a result of the hard work and dedication of FBR. Better laws, regulations, and institutional capability for the FBR were established by Sub-Program I.

With the $300 million in funding provided by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to the Government of Pakistan in December 2023, the delegation conveyed satisfaction with the program’s effective launch.

The FBR also underlined how crucial digitization is to recording the economy and boosting productivity in a sustainable way.

In order to promote the Government of Pakistan’s Digital Tax Administration Project, both parties decided to look into measures to improve their cooperation.

Latest News

Off-duty police in Islamabad are prohibited from donning uniforms.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The new directives, according to specifics, were sent via wireless by the federal capital police and state that no officer may wear a uniform when reporting for duty or leaving it.

According to the police official, uniforms will only be worn when on duty; otherwise, two policemen will accompany each other during duty hours and will always be required to carry guns.

A different development was the earlier release of an app by the Islamabad Police with the goal of improving crime prevention and public safety.

Launched on the orders of former Interior Minister Sarfraz Akbar Bugti, the recently released ICT-15 app aims to empower the people of the capital city by giving them the ability to actively engage in the battle against crime and protect their areas.

Residents of Islamabad can now easily download and utilize the ICT-15 app because it is easily accessible on the Google Play Store.

Citizens can report a variety of issues with this easy-to-use application, such as incidents, unlawful behavior, complaints against law enforcement, the presence of undocumented people, or any suspicious criminal activity.

The police promise quick reaction times as soon as information is reported using the app, so assistance will be provided as quickly as feasible.