KARACHI, May 12: Speakers at a workshop here on Monday urged women legislators to lay stress on a cut in non-developmental expenditure and more allocation for social sector development in the budget.

The workshop, tiled Budget-Making Process: implications and impact on women, was organized by the Legislative Watch Group of the Aurat Foundation.

They observed that successive governments, political or military, had failed to make a budget without accommodating dictates of the international financial institutions after obtaining huge loans.

They pointed out that in the mid-’90s, almost 65 per cent of the country’s budget exhausted in debt servicing while another big chunk was wasted on non-developmental heads. Funds could not be spared for health, education, etc., they added.

The speakers demanded that the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) be made public and discussed at all forums, including the parliament, before preparing final documents. Suggestions from international financial institutions be kept out of the PRSP, they said.

Shahida Wizarat, an economist, observed that debt crisis which surfaced in late ‘80s had crippled the national economy during the next decade. This situation, she said, did not allow the rulers to earmark sufficient funds for development in water, power, education, health and other sectors.

“These issues are becoming more and more serious day by day,” she pointed out and regretted that the government was not inclined to curtail its unnecessary spending.

She said that the 1980s did not see much of an industrial growth, so no new employment opportunities could be created. This led to an increase in the rate of poverty-related crimes and incidents of violence.

Prof Mohammad Nauman was of the view that in response to the dictates of international financial institutions governments in Pakistan first curtailed its funds for social sector development, then introduced privatization that led to massive retrenchment and unemployment, and then agreed to reduce customs tariff in the name of free market economy. All these moves, he said, might lead to a crippled economy and increased poverty unless corrective measures were taken immediately.

These policies, he said, the percentage of people living below poverty line, had gone high from around 22 per cent in 1988 to over 40 per cent in 2002.

In order to improve standard of life of the downtrodden, he said, land reforms, fixation of minimum wages and gender equality in every field would have to be considered besides enacting and strictly implementing effective laws.

Shagufta Alizai, Anis Haroon, Uzma Noorani and Nuzhat Shirin were among those who expressed their views at the workshop. A large number of legislators belonging to different political parties participated in the debate.

The PPP legislators were Fauzia Wahab (MNA), Farheen Mughal (MPA), Sassui Palijo (MPA), Marvi Mazhar (MPA), Shama A. Mithani (MPA), Sharfunnisa (MPA), Nuzhat Pathan (MPA) and Shamimara (MPA). The MQM legislators were Bilquis Mukhtar (MPA), Farheena Ambareen (MPA), Aziz Fatima (MPA), Rehana Nasreen (MPA), Heer Ismail (MPA) and Shumaila Nazar (MPA). The MMA legislators were Kulsoom Nizamani (MPA) and Ayesha Munawar (MNA) whereas others were Farida Baloch (MPA) of PML-Q and Afshan Imran (MPA) of National Alliance.