Pakistan has announced plans to introduce a tagging system for categorizing projects under the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024.25, focusing on climate, gender, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This system aims to closely monitor the allocation and utilization of development funds across various sectors, with a particular emphasis on projects related to poverty alleviation, labor, education, health, and youth development.
According to sources, both the Ministry of Finance and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will receive direct reports on the progress of development projects. The Finance Ministry will be kept informed about fund utilization by relevant ministries.
Furthermore, ministries will be barred from requesting additional funds until the allocated budget has been fully utilized.
The IMF has set a deadline until the next budget for the implementation of this tagging system. Additionally, sources revealed that the success of this system will influence the terms of a new loan program with the IMF.