QUETTA, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide $160 million loan to Balochistan for rural development, drought mitigation and social services.
An official statement on Saturday said a three-member ADB team led by Nawid Hamid, deputy country director, Pakistan resident mission, met Additional Chief Secretary (development) Nadir Ali on Saturday and confirmed the loan and technical assistance programme for year 2005.
The bank would provide $85 million to strengthen agriculture, crops and livestock services as well as productivity to increase farmers’ income and employment. It would also help promote marketing, and improve agriculture enterprises and services delivered by private sector.
The remaining credit would be spent on the devolved services and poverty reduction strategies, including targets of education, health, clean water supply and sanitation. This would help improve the performance of social services, strengthen devolution and develop a social sector that is more effective and sustainable through capacity building participation, the statement concluded.
JAM: Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousuf has said that treasury and opposition members in the provincial assembly, and Nazims and Naib Nazims in district assemblies should cooperate with each other to provide basic amenities to the citizens.
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of Zarghoon and Chiltan towns for induction of two sweeping-machine vehicles for Quetta, he said the Balochistan government was facing financial crisis in resolving problems faced by the people in the province.
He said Quetta was a backward city and to bring it at par with the capitals of other provinces, it needed huge funds, and maintained that the city had been included in the prime minister’s development programme.
He said that though the federal government had allocated Rs300 million for the city, that insufficient funds and could not resolve the chronic problems faced by the citizens in Quetta.
The chief minister formed a committee led by the provincial finance minister that would include MPAs and Nazims to determine development projects to utilize the Rs500 million allocated in the budget for uplift programme in the city.
He directed the finance minister and additional chief secretary (development) to release the funds referred in the PC-I by the Nazims of Zarghoon and Chiltan towns and announced Rs10 million for a rescue vehicle for the district city government.
Finance Minister Syed Ehsan Shah told participants that the provincial government was facing serious financial crisis due to delay in the announcement of the new National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
He said growth in the percentage of expenditures and decrease in receipts of gas development surcharge contributed to financial shortfall in Balochistan.
The minister said the chief minister and members of Balochistan in the NFC committee were making efforts to get proper share for the province in the new NFC award.
Earlier, district city government Nazim Muhammad Rahim Kakar, Zarghoon and Chiltan town Nazims Abdul Qahar Wadan and Mir Muhammad Ismail Lehri presented lists of demands. |
