May 27, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 24,1424

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ISLAMABAD, May 26: Non-participation of elected representatives in the formulation of budget and persistent neglect of social sector were highlighted by members of parliament attending a training workshop which began on Monday.

About 70 MNAs and Senators attended the programme organized by the Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency.

The workshop served as a worthwhile exposure for those who have reached the parliament for the first time to the intricacies of budget-making and also a foretaste of what the government may face in the budgetary discussion in a house with a larger sprinkling of legislators from a non-feudal background.

Irrespective of whether such discussions translate into tangible change in policies, the session indicated that problems of poverty and deprivation faced by the poor and the lower middle class would echo in the parliament for the first time through the new legislators, particularly those from the smaller provinces.

Thus the concerns of the elite may not completely pre-empt the parliamentary proceedings as has been the case in previous assemblies.

The session began with a presentation on the state of economy by Dr Ashfaque Khan.

Mr Fareed Piracha of the MMA said every government condemned the past and praised the present, but there has never been an actual change in favour of the masses, as every budget ended up burdening the people even further. Even the elected representatives have no chance to take part in the budget-making, he observed.

Mr Mohid Khan Baluch said 35 to 40 per cent people lived under the poverty line and their number was growing as more and more households in the lower middle class swelled to the rank of the poor.

“The government claimed reduction in debt-servicing while, in fact, our indebtedness has been extended for another 20 to 30 years through rescheduling of foreign loans,” he remarked.

Kunwar Khalid Yusuf of the MQM wanted to know whether defence expenditure was not a major irritant to the fiscal sovereignty of the people who were being made to bear the burden of taxes.

Samia Raheel Qazi of the MMA questioned the authenticity of the figures presented by the government. She said the government was implementing the policies of the IMF/World Bank which were not conducive for the interests of the people.

Senator Razia Alam said allocations for education had never been above 2.3 per cent of the budget. He wanted to know whether Iqra surcharge was being utilized for promotion of education. She questioned the authenticity of official rate of inflation which, she added, was belied by other estimates which put it at 7 per cent.

Mehnaz Rafi of the PML (Q) said parliament was not allowed to fully debate the budget. Moreover, the parliament’s power to pass the budget was nullified when the government changed the tax levies after or before the budget session.

She raised the typical concern of the elite about the ill- founded reports about the new income tax form and the alleged attempt to obtain information about nature of schools attended by the children of the elite.

Abdul Rauf Mengal of the BNB called finance minister’s attention to the plight of farmers because of the glut of onions. The government, he added, had ignored the pleas for fixation of support price for onions and lifting their produce.

He said a large number of employees had been sacked under the pretext of downsizing, etc., while, in fact, such steps had been followed by induction of army officers and advisers/consultants on higher packages.