Budget deficit exceeds Rs 195 billion up to February: Finance Minister

Source: http://geo.tv/4-10-2008/16580.htm

Thursday, April 10, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar has termed the statistics given by the former government false regarding economic growth rate and said that the present government would revive the economy through some strict measures.

He said that despite tough challenges, the government would bring the monetary deficit to the manageable limit of six per cent by reducing it from about 10 per cent within 2 ½ months.

Ishaq Dar said that the present government has inherited the very weak economy full of debts and the bank borrowings would be thoroughly made limited.

He was addressing a joint press conference with federal information minister Sherry Rehman after the federal cabinet’s second meeting under prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani at the prime minister’s secretariat on Wednesday.

The finance minister provided the federal cabinet a detailed balance sheet of the national economy up to March 31, 2008.

Prime minister had given two weeks time to the ministry of finance for preparation of the balance sheet but the economic team headed by the finance minister worked day and night and prepared the balance sheet within just eight days.

Ishaq Dar said that we believe in transparency and until the government would not tell the facts to the people no solution of the issues would be achieved.

Presenting the facts and figures, he said that debts of Rs.2,946 billion were achieved from 1947 to 1999 while Rs.2,749 billion were borrowed from 1999 to 2008.

He told that the government debts valued at Rs.2,946 billion up to June 1999 and it went up to Rs.5,280 billion up to March 2008 besides an aid of 300 million dollars from Saudi Arabia.

The finance minister told that despite heavy increase in the world prices of oil the former government did not use the formula of automatic adjustment due to which a heavy subsidy of Rs.138.6 billion on petroleum products has been kept in the present budget but it does not include any provision.