KARACHI: ‘Budget a poll stunt’: Assembly starts debate
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI, June 18: The Sindh Assembly on Monday started a debate on the provincial budget 2007-08, which came under strong criticism from the opposition benches. Six members, three each from the treasury and opposition sides, took part in the debate while Speaker Syed Muzzafar Hussain Shah was in the chair.
In their speeches, the opposition members termed it a ‘sick budget’, and alleged that the tall claims made in it were nothing but an ‘election stunt’ aimed at hoodwinking masses. However, they said, the government could not achieve its objective as “it already stands fully exposed after failing to bring about any improvement in any sector over its four-year tenure.”
Opposition MPAs Rafique Engineer, Dr Sikander Mandhro and Humera Alwani contested the government claim of having provided substantial relief to common man. On the contrary, they observed, not a slight relief was offered to general public which would have to bear the additional burden of Rs12 billion shown as deficit. For the common man, the budget was even more a bane considering the uncontrolled price hike, unemployment and poverty, besides the unfavourable law and order.
Initiating the general discussion on the Rs236 billion budget, Rafique Engineer of PPP said non-development expenditure had been increased to Rs174 billion, up by 18 per cent as against that of last year. The allocation for development was as meagre as Rs59.28 billion, he added.
He also criticised earmarking of Rs19.145 billion for law and order, saying that the amount exceeded even the revised estimate of Rs18.538 billion.
He apprehended that the Sindh government’s liabilities amounting to Rs83 billion were bound to force every citizen in the province plunge in debt further.
He regretted that all crucial issues, like NFC Award, were ignored and the commitment to provide scholarships to the students of class V to X and employment to jobless youth remained unfulfilled.
Dr Sikander Mandhro of PPP recalled the claims made by Senior Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed in his last year’s budget speech and pointed out that none of the commitments had been fulfilled. He said there was no writ of law in upper Sindh, which was virtually in control of Sardars (feudal lords).
Rauf Siddiqui, Dr Sohrab Serki and Talib Imam, representing the treasury benches, presented a rosy picture of the future economy to be painted by the budget, which they termed ‘historic’. They made mention of a record allocation of Rs71 billion towards the Annual Development Programme, and appreciated that priority was accorded to the education, health and roads communication sectors.
