Govt accused of making national budget ‘Punjab-specific’

ISLAMABAD: The government was accused in the Senate on Friday of making the national budget ‘Punjab-specific’ and heavily relying on indirect taxation and foreign loans even in 2015-2016 to make up for the budget deficit.
Senators criticised the government for allowing massive supplementary grants to various ministries and departments without the prior approval of parliament.Yet again, senators in their budget speeches called on the government to allocate adequate funds for the western route of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The government was also urged to make sure workers are paid minimum Rs13,000 per month, as presently they are getting hardly Rs8,000 to 10,000 per month.
The House, debating the new budget for days, witnessed some lighter moments when Senator Shahi Syed during his speech could not properly read out a quatrain by revolutionary poet Habib Jalib.
“You are reading out poetry even worse than me,” quipped Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani and Shahi Syed hit back, saying, “It is a sign of judgement day that a Pakhtoon is dealing with Urdu poetry”. These remarks brought broad smiles on the faces of several senators while laughter also echoed in the House.
Then Rabbani advised Shahi Syed to better get tips from Senator Shibli Faraz, sitting close by. Shibli is the son of renowned Urdu poet late Ahmad Faraz. Senator Javed Abbasi of the treasury benches claimed the financial position had improved as compared to the previous year and there had also been financial discipline.
He conceded that the PML-N formed the government at a very difficult time and some unpopular decisions were also made to rectify the situation and now things had started improving significantly. He was hopeful trade and industry would grow further with the establishment of the first ever export-import bank (Exim bank).
“We are happy the rulers are making huge allocations for projects in Punjab, but smaller provinces, particularly my province, should get its due share too,” asserted PPP’s Senator from Sindh Sassui Palijo. She complained for two gas-run power projects in Punjab, Rs45 billion had been earmarked in the budget but for two key projects in Sindh only a few millions.
Referring to the federal cabinet, she alleged it was a manifestation of nepotism and there was no one talented in the prime minister’s team of ministers. She charged new taxes of Rs2,626 billion had been proposed in the budget, whereas Sindh had been denied its due share of funds last year.
She pointed out the government planned to conduct the next national census early next year, but had not earmarked a penny for this purpose. She alleged the 1991 Water Accord had been trampled under the feet of rulers.
Mohsin Aziz of PTI from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said that the author of the financial budget 2015-16 did not pay any attention towards the issues faced by the poor in his third consecutive budget.
He alleged the government had failed to achieve all its major targets set for the previous year except inflation, which came down due to a decrease in petroleum prices in the international market.
The PTI lawmaker also flayed the government for issuing supplementary grants to different ministries and government departments, saying no grant should be issued unless it was approved by parliament.
About the PSDP allocation in the Budget 2015-16, he said the smaller provinces, especially Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were once again ditched by the big brother — Punjab — as the allocation was not made per criteria set for the National Finance Commission (NFC), which will give birth to sense of deprivation.
Aziz said the government made a deliberate attempt and made a mere allocation of only 12 percent for the construction of western corridor compared to 58 percent allocations in the budget for constructing the eastern corridor under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
He also regretted that the government was paying more attention towards coal and LNG to generate power, while no allocations were made for the Thakot Dam in Shangla (2,800MW), Patan Dam in Kohistan (2,800MW), which were at the feasibility stage for the last five years.
Another bombshell which was thrown on the poor masses in the budget was the sales tax, which was paid by the consumers, adding the registered wholesalers, traders, and shopkeepers which pay only two percent sales tax were exempted again.
JUI-F’s Maulana Attaur Rehman, the younger brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman, saw hardly any difference between the Senate and the National Assembly with regards to level of budget speeches, saying opposition for the sake of opposition was being witnessed during budget speeches.
“Had Aitzaz Ahsan been in the government, Mushahid Ullah would have been delivering the speech Aitzaz delivered now. This should end now, and a constructive debate should be held on the budget,” he said.
He contended that Pakistan would have to rely on its own resources if it wanted to get rid of foreign loans because when loans were obtained, then IMF and other lenders had also to be pleased in the budget by incorporating their conditions.
The senator wanted the rulers to change their lifestyle, as only by doing this, their subordinates would also observe austerity and only then, people would begin loving their leaders. “There is no voice in parliament for those Pakistanis who live below the poverty line,” he noted.
Shibli Faraz of PTI asserted that both PPP and PML-N should apologise to the nation for bringing Pakistan and its institutions to this level. He blamed appointment of cronies with low qualifications as head of the state entities for their poor performance and bankruptcy.
He said the two mainstream parties had been misleading the nation by making hollow promises and then reneging on them after coming to power, adding this had rendered the nation indifferent. He called for ruthless accountability of those institutions that had never been subjected to this process.
Mohsin Leghari advocated prime focus on agriculture and manufacturing sectors, which were the largest source of employment and contributed massively to the GDP. Shahi Syed urged the government to earmark funds for the western route of the PCEC, as per the prime minister’s pledge to build it first.He also wanted the government to allocate funds for the Bacha Khan International Airport.