ISLAMABAD: The debt burden of every citizen alarmingly jumped by 21% to Rs216,708 by the end of previous fiscal year due to wrong economic policies, stated an annual report of the Ministry of Finance, admitting that the previous year’s fiscal policies sowed seeds of economic instability. The Fiscal Policy Statement 2022-23 has been prepared to meet a statutory requirement, a document that had been conceived 18 years ago to inform the National Assembly about the true state of economy, a media outlet reported on Sunday.
The policy statement showed that per person debt burden increased from Rs179,100 in June 2021 to Rs216,708 by June 2022. There was an additional liability of Rs37,608, or 21%, on every citizen in just one year. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had been in power in the first nine months of previous fiscal year, ie 2021-22, while in the last quarter, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was at the helm of affairs. The report, which has not yet been made public, is expected to be laid before NA next week to meet requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act of 2005.
Gross public debt jumped to Rs49.2 trillion by June 2022, which has now increased further. Over one-fifth increase in per capita debt in one year indicates the speed at which the country is sinking under the debt burden. The Ministry of Finance has worked out the per capita debt on the assumption of a population of 227 million people. The report mentioned that fiscal year 2021-22 steered the economy to a growth of 6%. “This growth could have been more sustainable, if led by investment rather than consumption,” said the finance ministry.
