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Saturday, 11 July, 2020 I 19 Dhū al-Qa‘dah, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol XI No 13 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition
PM announCes rs30bn subsidy for naya Pakistan housing sCheMe g
Govt to pay Rs300,000 of total cost of house foR the fiRst 100,000 units
ISLAMABAD staff report
P
RiMe Minister imran Khan on friday announced Rs30 billion in subsidy for the naya pakistan housing scheme in line with helping the underprivileged class build their own homes. addressing the nation after chairing a meeting of the national coordination committee on housing, construction, and Development, pM imran said the scheme was aimed at the “working class, the welder, the small shop owner, who do not have a lot of money to build their own houses”. “the goal of the naya pakistan housing scheme was to construct houses for this strata of the society, which doesn’t have cash.
“We faced many hindrances while launching the scheme due to some existing legislation, such as the foreclosure law, which allows banks not to lend out money without a confirmation of repayment. “[however] despite a lot of hurdles, we were successful in passing the law for pakistan, which is now implemented around the world,” he said. the prime minister also spoke of the construction sector, saying it faced a lot of obstacles, but that the ncc had worked on formulating policies for its revival. “We have decided to revive our economy with housing and construction industry so that people can get jobs and we can generate revenue in times of global recession and pandemic,” he noted. “i, myself, will preside this meeting every week to supervise the working and
Coronavirus in
Pakistan
CONFIRMED CASES:
245,465
DAY'S DEATH TOLL:
NEW CASES:
75
2,751
RECOVERED:
DEATHS:
SINDH:
PUNJAB:
149,092 5,106 102,368
85,261
KP:
BALOCHISTAN:
AJK/GB:
ISLAMABAD:
29,775
11,128
1,485/1,619 13,829
progress of the committee regarding the naya pakistan housing scheme. “We only have time till December 31 to provide incentives to the construction industry,” he added. pM imran explained that under the naya pakistan housing scheme, Rs30 billion had been allocated as a subsidy, which would translate into Rs300,000 for each of the 100,000 households during the first phase of the programme. a 5% interest is levied on a five-marla house and 7% for 10-marla, he noted. “We have also directed the sBp [state Bank of pakistan] to keep 5% of the portfolio for the construction industry, which is calculated to be Rs330 billion,” he said. the government had coordinated with all of the provinces for a one-window operation so as not to have people worry about obtaining no-objection certificates (nocs), the premier announced, adding that there would be a time limit for the approvals of houses maps. “We have reduced provincial taxes so that people can benefit more and more with the subsidies,” he added. pM imran mentioned yet another relaxation in terms of questions about the sources of investment, saying it would not be questioned only during the ongoing year “due to recession caused by the coronavirus”. “We have requested the global financial bodies for these subsidies because most of our economy is undocumented. therefore, i would request people to make the most benefit from these incentives. “We are hoping that these incentives will create employment opportunities for people in these hard times of pandemic,” he said. “around the world, banks provide loans for construction but banks in pakistan only provide 0.3% loans — which is quite less.”
cutting back spending too soon could undermine recovery, iMf warns NEW YORK agencies
as governments rushed out funding to prevent an economic collapse amid the coronavirus pandemic, global public debt swelled to the highest in history, but the international Monetary fund (iMf) warned on friday that cutting back too soon could undermine the recovery. Government spending “will need to remain supportive and flexible until a safe and durable exit from the crisis is secured,” iMf fiscal policy chief vitor Gaspar and chief economist Gita Gopinath said in a blog post. even with record low interest rates worldwide, the debt figures are staggering — surpassing the size of the global economy, and deficits in advanced economies five times higher than pre-pandemic estimates for 2020. the health crisis and the business shutdowns to contain the spread of covid-19 demanded “a massive fiscal response” of close to $11 trillion to help support households and prevent bankruptcies,” the authors said. “But the policy response has also contributed to global public debt reaching its highest level in recorded history, at over 100% of
KE chief says company ‘cannot be blamed’ for Karachi load shedding ISLAMABAD staff report
K-electric chief executive Moonis alvi has refused to accept responsibility for the power utility’s role in the persistent load shedding issues faced by Karachi residents, saying “Ke cannot be blamed”. he instead faulted the federal government for delaying approval for import of oil. a public hearing to discuss the longstanding loadshedding issues in Karachi, which have taken a turn for the worse this year, was held by the national electric power Regulatory authority (nepRa) in islamabad on friday. a number of public representatives, technical experts, representatives of different entities, members of business community, journalists and the consumers of Karachi participated. nepRa chairman tauseef h farooqui presided over the hearing and members of nepRa from all four provinces also participated. “We have gathered here today to discuss the issue of loadshedding in Karachi,” said nepRa vice chairman saifullah chatha. “the authority will listen to all stakeholders present today.” K-electric chief executive Moonis alvi told nepRa that load shedding in Karachi has experi-
global GDp, in excess of post-World War ii peaks.” and, they cautioned, “we are not out of the woods.” the Washington-based crisis lender, which historically has always advocated for governments to restrain spending, is in the unusual position of urging officials to flood their countries with cash while also sounding the warning about pitfalls ahead, especially if cases rebound. “While the trajectory of public debt could drift up further … an earlier-than-warranted fiscal retrenchment presents an even greater risk of derailing the recovery, with larger future fiscal costs,” they warned. PROFOUND TRANSFORMATION: in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis many governments shut down their stimulus programs at the first sign their economies had stabilized, which led to a slow, sluggish recovery. now the “need for continued fiscal support is clear,” Gaspar and Gopinath wrote, but countries also will need to find a way to finance it without debt becoming unsustainable. that includes improving tax collection, making taxes more progressive, so those with higher incomes pay more, and eliminating subsidies on fuel while adopting revenue measures such as carbon pricing.
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enced a rise since June 22. “under normal circumstances, load shedding in Karachi lasts between three to seven- and-a-half hours,” the Ke chief said. alvi said that pakistan state oil (pso) had written to the federal government saying that the demand for furnace oil will not be met and had sought permission to import oil. he said that Ke’s plants ran out of oil and not only Ke, but the government’s thermal power plants, also faced supply shortages. “pso got permission to import oil for Ke’s power plants after much delay,” alvi said. the Ke chief said that due to increased demand for electricity in the summer, load shedding
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has to be done even in areas otherwise exempt. “our request for additional power from the nation grid is never considered,” he complained. alvi said that currently Ke takes 720MW to 730MW from the national grid. chairman farooqui, taking into account the statement by the Ke chief, asked whether Ke must be held responsible for Karachi’s electricity woes since June 22. at this, the Ke chief vehemently denied being responsible. “Ke cannot be blamed for the current situation,” he said. farooqui said that Ke should have foreseen the increase in demand and planned to meet the shortfall in advance.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 02
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