PESHAWAR: The caretaker administration has delayed payments of Rs. 50 billion that is owed to contractors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a result of the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) prohibition on development funds.
To prevent pre-poll rigging, the ECP has prohibited all forms of direct recruiting in the federal and provincial administrations as well as the transfer of development money from one project to another.
According to sources, the contractors who have already completed work, however, are not getting paid as a result of the prohibition, while the employees have also not received payment.
Sources claim that more than Rs. 40 billion was needed in October to cover the costs of development projects, but the former provincial administration had to freeze the usage of funds in November owing to financial issues.
Furthermore, in November, December, and January, construction work progressed slowly, and contractors sent in invoices totaling more than Rs. 10 billion.
Additionally, the former Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) administration redirected development funding to pay the liabilities and now contractors have to wait till the next general elections to get the Rs. 50 billion as ECP has now also restricted the usage of money.
The ECP’s decision to forbid the use of uplift monies has resulted in a full halt to most development initiatives.
Besides, contractors would suffer additional losses as a result of the quick depreciation and inflation of the rupee, which will lead to Rs. 50 billion to lose most of its value over the next several months.
According to the legislation, the caretaker administration is only permitted to spend funds for running the government on a day-to-day basis, and is not permitted to use development funds.
