It’s a sad fact that regardless of how you are inclined politically almost everyone from the Frontier who knows about the the area’s economy knows that the area is discriminated against…
It seems the MMA has discovered that fact as well now:
Frontier’s economy and center’s role. Siraj
By: Sirajul Haq NWFP Senior Minister
The immense level of backwardness and ever increasing poverty in NWFP is nevertheless a bare fact. The existing marginal economic and industrial concern over here has hardly provided only some thousands of jobs. The present MMA Government despite all its limited and meager resources felt the dire need of diverting its attention towards the important sector of industrial and economic growth after acknowledge-ably maintaining financial discipline, law and order, peace, improving social sectors and service delivery system in the province. Industrial policy for attracting local and foreign investment has been announced as such.
However the province is continuously faced with financial crunch while support of the center or at-least ensuring the genuine and constitutional rights of theprovince is still awaited. Though handsome developmental and relief packages have been announced for Sindh and Balochistan during last two years that is a welcome matter but we desire this spirit for this resource starved-province too.
The provincial government organized 2-day International Investment Conference at Peshawar on 14th and 15th of this month. This was aimed at the very purpose to seek economic development at this gateway of Central Asia. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was also invited and concluding ceremony was extended to 3rd day on receiving his consent to attend the conference after his foreign tour. The conference happened to be successful event that was highly appreciated by the delegates including foreign investors. The Prime Minister also graced the occasion and delivered concluding remarks. We rightly and naturally have some expectations from our center and it was golden chance.
Hope was there that Prime Minister besides addressing hydle net profit and other issues would also announce a long awaited developmental or economic package for the province. The Governor Khalilur Rehman, Chief Minister Akram Khan Durani and me Sirajul Haq highlighted regional importance and challenges faced by the province while President of Sarhad Chamber presented the only six recommendations for center’s perusal to removing hurdles in economic growth in the area. The Chief Minister even said to extent that Frontierites were not thankless people and any step for removing backwardness of the province would become golden chapter of the history.
It seems that perhaps center has made it part of its policy to keep silence on rather ignore the problems and demands of NWFP. Its glimpse was also seen in speech of the Prime Minister. Though he in his address acknowledged geo strategic importance of NWFP and lauded measures of provincial government but did not afford to announce or give us something to facilitate in solving our onerous problems. He however blessed us with a lot of advices how to get benefit of the available resources and opportunities to which we are however thankful to him.
Salient features of PM’s speech are appeared in our media but one must want to know what was demanded from him. So it can be ascertained from the contents of welcome address that I presented on this occasion. Readers can then decide or speculate whether center’s attitude is discriminatory or where and what deficiency was left in presenting our case and what to do for the remedy.
I started my speech with the note that I welcome the Prime Minister and audience in the International Investment Conference being held at historical city Peshawar that was becoming a global market of the future. The land of NWFP is fertile and rich with talents. The people over here are laborious and have God gifted qualities though deprived of many basic amenities coupled with their economic backwardness. Majority of this precious human resource thus migrated to many of Gulf States for reasonable livelihood and contributed in its development. It was due to lack of job opportunities over here. If we plan for better then development and prosperity can also emerge over here.
On the other hand Allah Almighty has blessed NWFP with abundant natural and mineral resources. The gushin waters coming down of the glaciers in Hindu Kush Mountains are irrigating the entire country. A lot of development has been made by partially exploiting this natural resource. If all the resources and mineral wealth is properly utilized then not only destiny of the people of NWFP but the entire country can be changed. Our mountains are replete with the reservoirs of gold, emerald, gypsum, copper and other minerals. We cannot exploit all these mineral deposits on our own because we lack resources and technology.
Mr Prime Minister! You know that poverty ratio in NWFP was over 44% in rural and over 31% in urban areas. Our per capita monthly income is only 746 rupees. There are three ways left with NWFP to increase income and overcome poverty. 1st maintain financial discipline. 2nd get our accepted constitutional financial rights from center. 3rd promote industries side by side with exploiting our hydle and mineral resources.
I may mention with pride that provincial government has maintained better financial discipline that was even appreciated by the federal government and World Bank. We reduced non-developmental expenditures and allocated additional amounts for education and health sectors thus setting example for other governments. We during last 2 years prematurely returned Rs 10.136 billion loans of center besides Rs.731 million non-governmental debts. Thus saved Rs 2 billion per annum in respect of heavy interest otherwise levied on these loans that however is a record.
We had proposed a formula of 50:50 for distribution of resources between the center and provinces for the new NFC award but it was not accepted. Meanwhile then Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali had a promise with NWFP to which the press was also testimony that NWFP would be paid with Rs 8 billion instead of 6 billion annually in respect of hydle net profit for the interim period till decision of the mediation committee wef 2004-05 but it is regretted that this commitment is not honored and even Rs 4.5 billion of the subvention grant for the current fiscal year were also not paid to the province for the last 8 and half years. We fear that annual development programme of NWFP may collapse if these payments were not timely made to the province.
It is now a peculiar scenario that on one hand NFC award is not announced while on the other NWFP owe to pay Rs 61 billion loans with Rs 27 billion federal government and Rs 34 billion foreign debts. It is also a fact that federal government has to pay NWFP outstanding arrears of Rs 345 billion of hydle net profit. Similarly center also has to pay Rs 84.7 billion out of the accepted amount under NFC award of 1996. We have no option but to pay the federal government of its Rs 27 billion by getting soft loans from open market, as we have to pay Rs 286 mark up on each rupee obtained from center as precious loan. It is hoped that center will allow us the permission of getting soft loan from open market and we will be able to launch developmental schemes in the province of the saved money as such.
It is reality that progress of NWFP is linked with industries side by side with hydle and mineral resources. Hence the provincial government of MMA has chalked out a comprehensive plan for encouraging industrial and investment boom in the province. A policy has also been announced in this respect. Similarly investment in NWFP has become more attractive after discovery of natural gas in Karak District. The facility of Kohat Tunnel has enabled easy approach to southern districts of the province, Punjab and rest of the country that has provided more incentives for exploiting the industrial and natural resources capacities in the province.