QUETTA: Balochistan’s Rs215.7 billion budget for the next financial year proposes to significantly boost spending for improving security situation in the province, building social and economic infrastructure and creating new jobs in the province.

Other fiscal and development choices that the Abdul Malik Baloch government has spelt out in its second budget include enforcement of financial discipline, increase in the tax revenue, development of coastal and mineral wealth, reduction in corruption, focus on coal- and solar-based power generation and facilitation of private investment through public-private partnership.

The budget carrying a hefty deficit of Rs15.6bn plans to invest Rs50.7bn, or almost a quarter of the total outlay, in development. The development spending also includes foreign project assistance of Rs2.7bn.

The 8.5 million people of the province that constitutes 43 per cent of the country’s land mass aren’t destined to live in poverty and backwardness, thundered Mir Khalid Langov, the adviser to the chief minister on finance, at the outset of his budget speech as he blamed financial constraints as a major obstacle in the way of development of the province’s economy. “The financial problems facing Balochistan cannot be resolved without federal help.”

Rs215bn budget for financial year 2014-15 unveiled

The new budget’s total outlay is 17pc heftier than the outgoing year’s Rs198.3bn. The annual development plan (ADP) is also higher by 16pc. It has announced several financial and other benefits for the provincial government employees, including 10pc ad hoc raise in salaries and pensions. The government hopes to create about 4,000 new jobs as around 9pc of population is estimated to be unemployed.

The minimum wages have been fixed at Rs10,000 a month and its violation will be treated as a cognisable offence.

The provincial government has already formed the Public Procurement Authority to plug leakages in public funds and proposes to establish Board of Investment and Special Economic Zone Authority to create industrial estates for attracting private investors, and Balochistan Revenue Authority for collecting provincial sales tax on services from the next financial year.

The government, which is facing insurgency in parts of the province and growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom and target and sectarian killings, has increased allocation for maintenance of law and order by 27pc. The money will be spent to equip police and Levies forces with modern equipment, improve intelligence through the establishment of CID to counter terrorism and other crimes and better capacity of anti-terrorism force, etc.

The development focus has been shifted to improving infrastructure for education, health, power, water, women development and roads, and substantial raise in allocations for these sectors in the next year’s development and non-development spending has been suggested.

Development of agriculture, rural areas, fisheries, livestock, irrigation and mining and reduction in poverty through interventions like the Rural Poultry Self-Support Programme are also among top priorities of the government to boost the production sector to woo private investment and create jobs.

The adviser claimed that the coalition government led by Dr Baloch had brought about a visible change in the provincial economy despite problems and impediments during the last one year. “We have introduced reforms in different areas of the provincial economy and made concerted efforts to escalate growth, cut incidence of poverty, reduce non-development expenditure, create fiscal space for development, improve public service delivery in education and health sectors, and create jobs,” Mr Langov said.

He said Balochistan was passing through a transition which he hoped would usher in a new era for its people. “Our budget is based on our dream of achieving a self-reliant, developed and prosperous Balochistan,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2014