Government in 2016 provided inaccurate government guarantees data to IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that the Government of Pakistan provided inaccurate data on guarantees dating back to fiscal year (FY) 2016.

According to a press release by IMF, the revised data indicates non-observance of the performance criteria given by the government at the end of September 2019 by a margin of Rs347 billion (about 0.9 per cent of the GDP). 

Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the IMF Antoinette Sayeh, while speaking about the development said: “The non-complying purchase arose as a result of a lack of inter-agency coordination in the compilation of government guarantees provided by the federal government to state-owned enterprises that contributed to incorrect estimates of government guarantees starting as far back as the fiscal year 2016.”

This act is a non-complying purchase and breach of obligations under Article VIII, Section 5 of the IMF Articles of Agreement. 

However, the government met the performance criteria with a margin of Rs 55 billion (0.1 per cent of the GDP) by the end of-September 2019

The IMF also noted that Pakistani authorities had taken strong corrective steps to address the institutional and technical shortcomings that have resulted in the inaccurate reporting of information.

IMF has created a group to reconcile and cross-check guarantees and debt data, announcing additional functions for the Debt Policy Coordination Office (DPCO).

The groups will also act as the custodian of all the guarantees issued by the federal government and publishing a semi-annual debt bulletin that consolidates key debt statistics.

Besides, the authorities are also committed to including a list of all the new guarantees expected to be issued in the FY 2022 budget submitted to Parliament.

The IMF stated that the Pakistani authorities have continued to make satisfactory progress under its supported program which has been an important policy anchor during an unprecedented period.