Sindh budget

The Sindh government claims to have announced another people-friendly budget for the province. The Sindh Budget 2018-19 sets out an overall outlay of Rs1.144 trillion. Unlike the federal budget, it has only been authorised for three months – in the hope of allowing the incoming government to adapt it as per their priorities. However, much of the announcements seem to cover the full year. The budget includes a Rs343.9 billion allocation for the annual development programme (ADP), including Rs30bn for district packages and Rs50bn for new schemes for the next government. It also claims that the government will complete 714 development projects in the current year. The Sindh government has also announced that it will create 46,000 new jobs in the upcoming year. The salary and pension increase remain standard at 10 percent – which might lead to grievances on the part of government employees. Around Rs105 billion will be spent on security while Rs72 billion will be available to local governments. The Sindh CM has also announced that the government is announcing special provisions for the disabled.

On the finance side, the Sindh government estimates total income at Rs1.123 trillion , which would leave it with an expected budget deficit of Rs20.45 billion. Around Rs120 billion of the amount will be raised from sales tax and another Rs665 billion from the federal divisible pool. The Sindh government has trumpeted its high development allocation – the first time it has crossed Rs200 billion.

The education and health budgets have also been increased, with almost Rs12 billion for health and Rs24 billion for development expenditure in education. There is also a special Rs750 million allocation for minorities. Agricultural subsidies have also been increased by almost 34 percent. The trouble is that the Sindh budget – much like other provincial and federal budgets – may just only look good on paper. The reality is that the Sindh government continues to be seen as slow to respond to the real crisis affecting its residents. The most glaring case of lethargy has been Thar where children have continued to die of disease while the government continued to pass the buck. The Rs7 billion allocation for water to Karachi might allay some of the concerns of neglect but the social and economic uplift of Sindh has not proceeded at the pace that could have been possible under the leadership of the PPP. Budgets are often paper tigers – and this one may be no different.