The federal government on Friday notified for Dec. 4 the convening of the inaugural meeting of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC), with the huddle to take up three agenda items.
In notices sent to provincial governments, the center has communicated that Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb would preside over the NFC meeting. It said the meeting would commence with general discussions on “strategy for deliberations on the 11th NFC Award, including proposed formation of sub-groups for deliberations on thematic areas, etc.”
The second item on the agenda is 10-minute-long presentations by each of the four provincial governments and the Ministry of Finance on their respective fiscal positions. The third and final listed agenda item pertains to setting the schedule and timelines for future NFC meetings until the conclusion of deliberations.
The 11th NFC was constituted on Aug. 22 to finalize a new award for sharing federal divisible resources between the center and the provinces. Initially, its first meeting was scheduled for Aug. 27 but was subsequently delayed to Aug. 29 and then indefinitely due to this year’s monsoon floods. The session was then scheduled for Nov. 17, then Nov. 18, and then “indefinitely” postponed once more.
The NFC comprises the federal finance minister, the four provincial finance ministers, and four non-statutory members, one from each province. This 11th NFC has been a source of public debate in recent weeks amidst calls from the federal government for the provinces to reduce their share in the divisible pool. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended greater share of financial burdens from provinces, particularly for natural disaster relief and infrastructure programs. Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, meanwhile, has indicated the government’s desire to delink the NFC from population of provinces and replace it with criteria based on social-sector performance and the activation of local governments.
Under the current formula, Punjab receives 51.74%, Sindh 24.55%, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 14.62% and Balochistan 9.09%.