KARACHI – Sindh’s Annual Development Programme (ADP) is likely to be the most adversely component of the new fiscal budget, as the province is currently battling a crippling financial crisis, argued Sindh Finance Secretary Naveed Kamran Baloch during a meeting of the Sindh Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday. “Sindh’s current financial position is critical. The size of the ADP in the new fiscal budget will depend on available funds,” Baloch said.
The finance secretary contended that the province finds itself in this quagmire for three reasons: last year’s devastating floods, release of less funds from the Centre against due share of the province, and unsatisfactory recovery of taxes in the province during the current financial year.
Baloch said that Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had also convened a meeting last Monday to review the financial position of the province, and the recovery of taxes during the year. Because of the current financial position, he added, the province would have to approve development schemes in new fiscal year as per availability of funds.
The finance secretary explained that the province had to divert around Rs18 to 20 billion from different accounts to flood-hit areas during the current financial year for relief and rehabilitation of the affected. While Baloch explained that Sindh was also facing financial problems on different accounts, he chose to highlight the over-billing of electricity charges by WAPDA, HESCO, and the KESC. “Power utilities have claimed around Rs30 billion from the government in electricity charges, but according to the government’s estimates, the actual amount totals to around Rs2 billion,” Baloch said.
The finance secretary claimed it was because of this controversy that the matter has gone to court, explaining that the provincial government had suggested to the power utilities to constitute a join committee for resolving the disputed figures and to develop a permanent solution to resolve any future controversies. The power utilities, however, did not agree to the proposal and chose to sue the government. PAC Chairman Jam Tamachi Unar lamented that while his committee had identified the problem of over billing of electricity charges much earlier, it was not addressed timely. He argued that the restoration of the old magistracy system in the province will resolve all such problems the province, since the present local government system did not have the capacity to resolve these problems.
Tamachi said that the present local government system has created more problems because while it has empowered individuals in each district, it lacks a check-and-balance mechanism in official affairs. He said that the government should not introduce extraordinary development schemes in the budget. Talking about performance of the PAC during the last three years, Jam Tamachi said that around Rs2 billion have been recovered and deposited to the national exchequer due to the committee’s interventions. Earlier, the PAC settled audit paras of the Transport Department of the Audit Report of years, 2006-07 and 2007-08 regarding misappropriation of Rs200,000. The PAC, however, deferred the audit paras of Finance Department of the Audit report of same period for want of details.