INVC NEWS
Washington : The World Bank has said that Pakistan’s economic situation is deteriorating. The bank has warned that more than one crore people in the country troubled by cash crunch may go below the poverty line. This apprehension of the World Bank is based on the slow economic growth rate of 1.8 percent along with rising inflation which has reached 26 percent in the current financial year.
The World Bank in its report on Pakistan indicated that the country may miss achieving almost all major macroeconomic targets. The report said that Pakistan may fall short of its primary budget target. He may remain in loss for three consecutive years. This is contrary to the conditions of the International Monetary Fund. The Monetary Fund has essentially maintained a condition of surplus.
Syed Murtaza Muzaffari, lead author of the report, said that although the revival is widespread, it is still in its early stages. The efforts being made to eradicate poverty are not enough. It said that economic growth is expected to remain stable at a modest 1.8 percent. At the same time, about 9.8 crore Pakistanis are already below the poverty line. With this the poverty rate remains at around 40 percent.
The report highlights the risk of people living just above the poverty line falling below it. Under this, one crore people are at risk of falling below the poverty line. The World Bank said the poor and marginalized people are likely to benefit from windfall gains in agricultural production. But these gains will be offset by persistently high inflation and limited wage growth in high-employment sectors such as construction, trade and transportation.
The World Bank report said that during the first quarter of this financial year, wages of daily wage workers grew by only five percent while inflation was above 30 percent. The World Bank warned that the number of children out of school is likely to increase due to rising costs of living as well as rising transportation costs.
