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Govt devises strategy to provide relief to people, businesses by direct cash transfers: Hafeez Shaikh

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October 22, 2020: Adviser on Finance Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh says that despite fiscal constraints, after the pandemic, the government has devised a strategy to provide relief to people and businesses by direct cash transfers.

He said this while addressing the Ministers and Governors of the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan Region of the IMF through video link. He said the government is sharing the load of various expenditures of the small businesses.

The Adviser said Covid-19 has undone a considerable share of the achievements of the government.

He pledged that the government is determined to provide employment and fight in-equality.

He reiterated that if the government wants to continue economic reforms, there are two real challenges; arranging to fund for pro-poor expenditures and prioritizing the need for development spending.

The Adviser observed that incurring more expenditure to provide for the people at or below the poverty line will require more borrowing as it would not be possible to increase taxes at a time of declining growth in the economy.

Finance Adviser said that there is a need to adopt a coherent strategy with the partner countries in the region for development. He added no matter how fair or transparent the Governments are in their intentions and operations this unusual situation has made them realize that there is a need for taking support from their friends and development partners in the form of technical advice and financial support and for that all must contribute. 

The discussion focused on the impact of the Corona Virus on the economies of the region, lessons learned through the experiences and policy guidelines to be adopted to deal with the crisis of such magnitude which has caught the world by surprise.

The participants agreed that the virus has exposed the world's need for health spending and to focus more on technological solutions to various problems. It was observed that after the first wave of the pandemic almost all the countries have lost a significant share of their GDP and unemployment has become the biggest challenge. It was agreed if the second wave comes, losses will be massive and the achievement made by some countries during the crisis will be lost if the preventive measures are not adopted as a part of their everyday life.

The participants praised the Debt Suspension Initiative of the G-20 and said that there is also a need to provide more finances to the vulnerable economies. It was a consensus that employment generation, equality and inclusion will be the new challenges from the perspective of women and youth and new strategies will be needed to help the women and youth in the region.

Radio Pakistan

Posted on: 2020-10-22T09:31:00+05:00

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