20000206

Debt reduction body to submit report in three months

Recorder Report

Islamabad: The debt reduction and management committee headed by former World Bank Executive Dr Pervez Hassan will give its report in three months.

Talking to newsmen, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said that during his meeting with Pervez Hassan on Friday the terms of reference of the committee were finalised.

The committee, which has started working in the Ministry of Finance, will prepare a strategy in the context of macro-economic indicators and come out with a financial plan for the next three years, Shaukat Aziz told reporters.

The growth projection is linked with the issue of investment, savings, and allied matters.

The 11-member committee was announced by the government last week. Its main task is to assess the burgeoning debt, analyse its evolution and devise ways and means to reduce it.

It will also discuss the impact of high public debt interest payments on government development and social spendings. It will also deliberate on the large debt liability of the government for future debt, fiscal management and its consequences in the near term of large gross external borrowings on the balance of payments position.

The committee will also review the existing arrangement of debt contracting and evaluate the present capacity of debt management and identify weaknesses and shortcomings.

The committee includes Secretary-General Finance Moeen Afzal, State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, Statistical Division Secretary Fazlullah Qureshi, Economic Affairs Division Secretary Javed Akram, economists and academicians. Dr Ashfaq Hussian is the member secretary of the committee.