Economic Survey FY23 shows that Pakistan fails to meet its economic goals due to the effects of floods and politics.
economic goals
Economic Survey FY23 shows that Pakistan fails to meet its economic goals due to the effects of floods and politics.Analysts will be watching Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s maiden budget for the PDM govt very closely for signs of populist dole-out.Dragged down by agitational politics, catastrophic floods, trade barriers, and a dangling International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout on top of bare minimum foreign exchange reserves, Pakistan’s GDP growth rate came to a crawl in the current fiscal year, making it one of the worst in terms of meeting annual macroeconomic targets, as revealed Thursday by the Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23.
Finance Minister
At a news briefing in Islamabad, Finance Minister Dar unveiled the preliminary budget.Analysts will be looking for signs of populist giveaways in Dar’s first budget for the government’s full fiscal year, and they will also be trying to determine whether or not the government is willing to pursue the economic discipline necessary to enter another International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.Dar opened the press conference by taking the opportunity to remind the media of the 2013 election of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. He said that the economy was in shambles, that loadshedding lasted for 18 hours, and that terrorism was on the rise at the time.
macroeconomic growth
In retrospect, Dar said, “We followed our ‘three-e’s’ concept and Pakistan saw macroeconomic growth; now, we are focusing on five-es: exports, equity, empowerment, environment, and energy.” These are the five foci on which we focus.The minister of finance declared, “This is our roadmap for the next year.” He called this year a “challenging” one and said the government “did its best to handle the economic situation.”The finance minister mentioned that this year the administration included IT as a “stand-alone” topic in the economic survey for the outgoing fiscal year 2022-203.The minister predicted growth for this industry in the near future. Macroeconomic stability, inclusive growth, and resiliency, he noted, are all goals of the government.
PML-N
“We want it to be inclusive to avoid the maldistribution of resources,” the finance minister stated. He stressed the importance of regaining the investors’ trust in this manner.The minister then turned back the clock to 2022, saying that the PML-N-led coalition government “faced extreme challenges as fiscal space had shrunk, inflation was on the rise, the current account deficit was skyrocketing, and financing needs were increasing” when it assumed office.When the policy rate rises, it’s not hard to see that financing demands will rise as well. God only knows what would have occurred if this government hadn’t stepped in,” Dar remarked.
GDP growth
In defence of his statements, he pointed to a $6,400,000,000 drop in foreign exchange reserves in the “last third quarter,” before Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet came office.We made it through the first five quarters. The minister of finance added, “I don’t know what could have happened had we been going at that pace.” He said the economy’s downward spiral had been halted and it was on the path to stability.The GDP rate was 6% when this administration took office. But before that, GDP growth was negative one percent. The foundation was weak. And when the base drops, you have a new starting point the following year and the years after that,” he said.
