The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2012-13 on Monday by agreeing to 59 demands for grants worth over Rs 542 billion.
No cut of motions were submitted by any member for the first time in the reconciliation-driven Pakistan People’s Party-led 168-memebr provincial legislature.
The day-long provincial assembly sitting was called to order by Speaker Nisar Khuhro with a routine two-hour delay at 11am.
The provincial lawmakers also nodded to a supplementary budget of over Rs 140.345 billion for the outgoing FY12.
90 MPAs participated in the general discussion on the budget as opposed to the 123 members who took part in the discussion for the budget of FY 2012, said Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah. The budget was approved by the house after Leader of the House Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah delivered a speech mostly political in nature, revolving around the PML-N leader Nawaz Sharifs’ recent outbursts against the PPP government during his visit to Sindh. He also criticised what he called the ‘tiny opposition’ or ‘Tanga parties’ in Sindh for siding with the proponents of the anti-Sindh Kalabagh Dam.
Without naming the PML-N leaders, he said some people were playing politics at the cost of the miseries of the people of Sindh. He said the opposition was indulging in ‘criticism for the sake of criticism’ without making any contributions whatsoever in the development of Sindh. Declaring PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari as the ‘unparalleled’ leader of the day, the chief minister said the new budget was in line with the wishes of the people of Sindh and that unlike the dictators in the past, will be used fully for their welfare. He also thanked the coalition partners for making it possible for the PPP to come this far in its struggle for democracy in the country.
Responding to MQM’s parliamentary party leader Sardar Ahmed’s earlier statement the chief minister said: “We all have to monitor ourselves during the next eight months left in the coming general elections.” “If we have done something for the people of Pakistan we would succeed again,” Qaim told a desk-thumping house.
Monday saw the parliamentary leaders of the political parties represented in the house, speaking on the budget.
Sardar Ahmed of the MQM, while lauding the format of the new budget, highlighted some serious irregularities in the fiscal estimated amount and its usage.
Finance Minister Murad Ali Shah was on the defensive when the senior MQM lawmaker pinpointed some budget estimates, saying that he said had gone ‘out of focus’.
He said there was no regular flow in the average provincial expenditures as the provincial government’s spending during first 10 months was equivalent to that of last two months before the completion of outgoing FY12. This Sardar said led to corruption and required regulator monitoring by the finance committees comprising elected representatives. The MQM lawmaker also stressed the need for imposing agriculture tax, a demand later rejected by the finance minister contending the move will cut the already meager income of the farmers who were providing food to the country.
The finance minister also rejected the figures quoted by the members in their budget speeches as wrong, saying that he had the correct figures. Agreeing with Sardar’s suggestion for monitoring, Shah said the development budget spent by his government during last four years was ‘unthinkable’ for the previous governments.
Senior Education Minister Pir Mazharul Haq said the budget allocation for the education sector was unprecedented and that his government had placed education on priority in the budget. Soon after the budget was approved, the speaker prorogued the house for an indefinite period. The Question Hour pertained to the Anti-Corruption department.
