The hacks in the press gallery would’ve complained of not getting the show they had paid for. Had they paid for it, of course. For, barring one minor scuffle, the presentation of the Punjab budget was a stark relief from that of the federal budget. The opposition had already announced its intentions to hear the speech out quietly and present its critique later on. In fact, given the storm that the League worked up on the floor of the national assembly, the PPP’s composure during the Punjab budget speech was positively embarrassing.
As this very space was used to elucidate a week ago when Dr Hafeez Shaikh did his thing, June is that time of the year where the political opposition of the nation lets the people down. Instead of solid, constructive criticism on specific aspects of the budget, the opposition indulges in populist diatribes that are neither fish nor fowl. Many a vague plea is made in the name of that silent, elusive and rhetorically useful entity: the common man. The PPP has taken the moral high ground by not going that route. Commendable, but that still does not absolve them of the responsibility of criticism. It would be interesting to see what they make of the budget.
God knows they have plenty to work with. The Punjab government has reduced a fiscally sound province to one that makes ends meet on an overdraft. It is rumoured that the federal government made consensus on the NFC award, in part, by using this bleak fiscal situation as leverage and forcing the League government into accepting the accord.
The government has announced a Rs 220 billion development budget. It would do well to realise that at Rs 193 billion, last year’s ADP was also very ambitious. However, the government was able to utilise only part of it, ultimately revising it to Rs 138 billion. This inability to spend money is a result of the CM’s peculiar style of governance. There is no way a micromanaging premier can disburse allocated amounts efficiently. He has got to learn to delegate to ministers. And listen to at least his own MPAs. As opposed to showing up in the house after a full eight months. Once he starts interacting with the political class, he might realise the folly of certain projects. That, to quote only one example, spending on the existing school network would have perhaps been better than splurging on the Daanish schools (Rs 3 billion this budget.)
The CM should visit the assembly more often. He might learn a thing or two for the next budget.
