Opposition criticises Balochistan budget
QUETTA: Deputy Opposition Leader in the Balochistan Assembly Zamurak Khan Piralizai on Monday alleged that Minister for Education Rahim Ziaratwal was involved in transfer of funds from some other constituency to his constituency and described it the worst form of corruption.
Participating in the general discussion on the provincial budget, Mr Piralizai, who belongs to Awami National Party, said that funds were shifted overnight to the constituency of Mr Ziaratwal.
He expressed reservations on the budget, particularly on allocations for the development programme, saying that the PML-N government at the centre had not given a single mega project to Balochistan over the past four years. All mega projects were confined to Punjab, he added.
He criticised the federal government for presenting the annual budget without announcing the new NFC Award about sharing of resources. He recalled that in 2008, the total volume of the provincial budget was a mere Rs5 billion, compared to about Rs328bn today.
Minister accused of transferring funds from other constituencies to his own
The ANP leader claimed that not a single penny was spent on the western route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. He also criticised the provincial government for its failure to bring any significant economic project to Balochistan.
He slammed the governments’ decision to grant Rs500 million to the governor who did not have a representative capacity.
He appealed to the chief minister to thoroughly review the budget and do justice to all the constituencies through judicious distribution of resources and end the monopoly of a small group of MPAs and officials.
William Jan Barkat of the PkMAP in his speech demanded that the provincial government construct colonies for the sanitary workers in Quetta and other major cities. He said the colonial era facilities were still being used and had not been upgraded.
He demanded that jobs be provided to members of minority communities on the basis of their established and recognised quota.
Earlier, Prince Ali Baloch, MPA from Lasbela, quoted the remarks of the UNDP that non-development expenditure was expanding fast compared to the development expenditure and demanded a balance between development and non-development spending.
He welcomed that a vocational institution was being built in Lasbela.
Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2017