Sindh capable of increasing revenue

KARACHI: Pakistan can only attain fiscal discipline through domestic revenue mobilisation. Sindh’s own source tax revenue has huge potential; the province has the capacity to increase its revenue four times the current level.

This was said by Nadeem Hussain on Saturday during a talk on ‘The Economy of Modern Sindh: Opportunities Lost and Lessons for the Future’ — authored by Dr Ishrat Husain, Prof Aijaz A Qureshi and Nadeem Hussain — in a jam-packed auditorium of the University of Sindh, Thatta campus. The talk was moderated by Imtiaz Ali.

Responding to a question on what made him and his colleagues write this book, Prof Aijaz A Qureshi said: “Dr Ishrat Husain, who comes from Hyderabad and received his early education there, wanted to pay his gratitude to this province and its people.

“He had written a book on the same subject back in 1981, but there has been no book on Sindh’s economy since then, so he wanted to educate the people of Sindh on what went wrong and the growth prospects for the future; hence, this book.”

University of Sindh Thatta campus Pro-Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Sarfaraz Solangi said: “Our campus is grateful to the authors for sharing this wonderful academic treasure with our students and faculty.”

On a question regarding the recently presented Rs1.217 trillion Sindh budget, Nadeem Hussain said: “We have seen an allocation of Rs12.3 billion for social protection and poverty reduction in the upcoming financial year 2019-20 budget. This is a step in the right direction. Social spending is pivotal for an inclusive and sustainable growth. We need to spend on our women and children.”

Social activist Masroor Ali Shah said: “Political patronage and kinship are primary causes of Sindh’s under performance as compared to Punjab, which has improved very recently. The society needs to produce thought leaders and local political theorists. How long would we rely on the philosophy of GM Syed and Rasool Bux Palejo?”