Deputy Parliament Speaker Ahmed Nazim has revealed that there are more than USD 129 million in leftover funds in the accounts of local councils.
During the Parliamentary Finance Committee sit-down on Monday to review the block grant of local councils, Nazim said the accumulated amount from leftover funds of the annual budgets of local councils have now crossed USD 129 million.
That figure will increase by nearly USD 13 million every year, he said, quoting an official of the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
Nazim pointed out that a loophole in the decentralisation Act prevents local councils from accessing these leftover funds, depriving its benefit to the people with such money languishing in bank accounts.
The opposition lawmaker in the committee also agreed that the inability of local councils is detrimental to the communities they serve, but cautioned against hasty changes without a proper study.