Peoples Assembly on KP Budget FY2019-20

15 November 2019, Jalal Baba Auditorium, Abbottabad

Since 2010 the Foundation regularly analyses development priorities in KP’s annual budgets and uses its findings to recommend reforms in the province’s public finance management. The Foundation is also assisting more than 200 CSOs in 12 KP districts to use social accountability for increasing citizen engagement in governance with the intent of improving the delivery of quality public services. To assist CSOs in connecting local social accountability actions with provincial budgets and broaden citizen engagement to include public finance reform, the Foundation convened a Peoples Assembly.

147 women and 208 men representing CSOs from 12 KP districts, Abbottabad, Battagram, Dera Ismail Khan, Haripur, Karak, Kohat, Mansehra, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Shangla & Swat, as well as other stakeholders, attended the Peoples Assembly. The key findings of the Foundation’s analysis of KP’s budget FY2019-20 and trends over the past ten years were presented. It was explained that KP’s total budget for this fiscal year is Rs.900 billion of which Rs.319 billion is the total development outlay. Of this, Rs.83 billion is allocated for the newly merged FATA districts with the balance Rs.236 billion for the settled districts. The Foundation’s analysis focuses on the development component of the budget as it better indicates the government’s intent and priorities. “Budgets often seem daunting with figures in millions & billions. But citizens must develop a better understanding ofbudgets as they are directly linked with the availability of medicines in a village BHU, provision of drinking water in a VC, regular disposal of garbage in urban neighbourhoods, and, construction of rural link roads,” said Ms. Rashida Dohad presenting the Foundation’s budget analysis.