The National Finance Commission (NFC) Wednesday agreed that the division of the award should be in accordance with the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The ninth National Finance Commission (NFC) held its first meeting in Islamabad in order to discuss the financial position of the Centre and the federating units and set the agenda for negotiations on the distribution of the divisible pool for the next five years, Radio Pakistan reported.
The participants of the meeting, which was chaired by Finance Minister Asad Umar, decided to formulate six working groups in various sectors which would be headed by all provinces and the federal government. It was decided that all provinces will be given lead in the working groups whereas the federation will also lead one working group. The groups will prepare recommendations for the distribution of resources among provinces, negotiating erstwhile FATA affairs, improving ease of doing business as well as addressing the macro-economic issues.
The NFC is to meet every six weeks from the first meeting. During the meeting, the federal finance secretary briefed the participants on the current financial situation of the country. Provincial representatives also informed the participants about the financial state of their respective provinces. The meeting also discussed recommendations for improving the distribution of resources among provinces and smooth communication between the Centre and provincial administrations. This was the first meeting of the 10-member reconstituted 9th NFC. The 9th NFC had been constituted in April 2015 to finalise the 8th NFC Award.
Published in Daily Times, February 7th 2019.
