Sindh is not Islamabad’s colony: Murad Ali Shah

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the federal government while considering the province of Sindh as a colony of Islamabad, has decided to carry out its development works through a company, Sindh Infrastructure Development Company Limited (SIDCL), which is unacceptable.

This he said on Wednesday while addressing a press conference here at Auditorium of Sindh Assembly. He was accompanied by his Senior Advisor Nisar Khuhro, Information Minister Syed Nasir Shah, Advisor Murtaza Wahab and Special Assistant to CM Javed Nayab Leghari.

Murad Ali Shah said that Sindh has not been given any new scheme in the next Public Sector Development Programme 2020-21 except two energy schemes i.e. power and gas connections for Dhabeji Special Economic Zone.

He said that the prime minister had held National Economic Council (NEC) meeting through video link. “NEC is a constitutional body formed under Article 156 of the constitution and it has to meet twice in a year but the prime minister during his two years tenure has held only its two meetings,” he said and disclosed that the prime minister assured him that he would convene NEC meeting very soon and in future they would be held as envisaged in the constitution.

CM Shah said that the NEC meeting was scheduled to be held in Islamabad but at the eleventh hour he was told that the chief ministers and other members from the provinces would join the meeting from their respective offices through video link. “I was surprised that the prime minister chaired a seven-hour long cabinet meeting which was not a constitutional body – as it has been defined in rules of business of the government-whereas the NEC was a constitutional body and it should have been held on a single table with usual physical interaction to discuss the economic growth of the country, PSDP and other issues falling under its domain. He charged that NEC was a 13-member body and it could have been held under the prime minister in Islamabad. “I took up the matter before prime minister and he disclosed that the direction to the chief ministers was not given by him,” he disclosed.

Shah said that the NEC meeting had six agenda items but he would discuss only two items, they included Annual Plan, 2019-20 and 2020-21 and indicators of economic growth like how agriculture and industrial sectors would grow in the next financial year so that necessary planning could be made accordingly.

The Sindh Chief minister said that the in 2019-20 growth target was estimated at four per cent but later on it turned out to be minus 0.4 per cent. He added that in 2018-19 the growth target was 6.2 per cent which also turned out to 1.9 per cent. “This is a huge difference and I had pointed it out in the NEC meeting,” he said .

Quoting the World Bank authorities, Shah said that Pakistan growth in 2020 would be minus -2.6 percent and in 2021 it would be minus -0.2 per cent. He added that the federal government had shown a growth of 3.3 per cent last year but actually it was 1.9 per cent, therefore. “I am of the view that at least the provincial governments should be told accurate figures so that they make their plans of investments in development and other sectors accordingly,” he said.

In 2020-21, the federal government said the growth would be 2.1 per cent but the World Bank study had said it would be minus -0.2 per cent. “If you give wrong numbers our estimates would also go wrong,” he said. Shah said that the federal government told the meeting that their overall tax collection was 31 per cent higher than the last year because non-tax revenues were high. “This is right because they [Fed govt] have issued some licenses from where their collection has shown a growth but during the last 11 months the FBR has collected Rs3.5 trillion against a target of Rs5.5 trillion,” he disclosed. He added that the province of Sindh was told that it would receive Rs835 billion against which the Sindh only received Rs 606 billion. “This shows a shortfall of Rs229 billion and it has badly affected our over development portfolio,” he lamented.

The chief minister said that in 2018-19, for the first time, the tax collection had fallen short than that of the previous year and now again 2019-20 witnessed shortfall in collection than previous year.

Regarding PDSP, CM Murad Ali Shah said that he had chaired a meeting on PSDP on Tuesday and found discrepancies in the [PSDP] document. He added that on Wednesday morning he received a revised PSDP document in which what he saw was a formation of a separate company to carry out development schemes of the federal government in Sindh.

He said that every province has been given funds to carry out uplift works but a separate company, SIDCL has been formed for Sindh. “This is quite surprising and new thing for me,” he said and added for the first time he has seen around 22 schemes, including 20 of Sindh province have been assigned to the Cabinet division for implementation. “The cabinet Division of the federal government is not a development schemes executing agency,” he said.

Shah said that he raised this objection in the NEC meeting and told the prime minister that in 2015 the then PM Nawaz Sharif had announced Green Line bus project for Karachi and had said they [federal govt] would construct on their own. He went on saying that the federal government formed Karachi Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (KIDCL) and started Green Line bus transit system scheme of Rs24.6 billion. In June 2019, a year before, Rs21.2 billion was shown utilized on the schemes. “When, I saw the documents, Rs19.5 billion was shown utilized on the schemes as on 30 June 2020 while Rs21.2 billion they had shown getting utilized in June 2019,” he said and added that this is how they were doing the jugglery of figures related to the projects of Sindh.

Talking about a federal government scheme that included in the PSDP under the name of Improvement and Rehabilitation of streets, water and sewerage system under KMC, Shah said that how a vague scheme could be taken up for which they had no knowledge of the works to be carried out.

He added that surprisingly, the DDWP had approved it on March 13, 2020 at a cost of Rs1.1 billion and then Rs1.1 billion they had shown as being utilized. “I brought the scheme in the knowledge of the federal government and they advised him to go to NAB,” he said and added had it been done by the provincial government the NAB would have come into much earlier.

Referring to another schemes of Rs 2.44 billion named as Reconstruction of Manghopir Road. The work had been assigned to SIDCL, he said and added it was approved by the PML-N govt. So far Rs1.2 have been utilized and he was expecting that prime minister would inaugurate the scheme but on the ground everyone knows what has happened, he said. He also quoted another scheme Reconstruction of Nishtar Road of Rs1.9 billion approved in 2018. He added that it was an old scheme and so far they have utilized Rs781 million.

Talking about Fire Fighting System scheme of Rs1.876 billion, the chief minister said that Rs1.21 billion were utilized but so far the KMC has not received even a tyre of a fire tender.

He said that in the PSDP schemes in the name of `Development in Hyderabad and Mirpur division’ have been included but nobody know which schemes were they. “As a provincial government we must know which schemes they are taking up so that the provincial government may not launch duplicated scheme,” he said.

He also disclosed that in the PSDP Development schemes under PM programme in Larkana and Shaheed Benazirabad worth Rs1.8 billion have been included. “The Prime Minister should give us mega projects such as lining canals, dam projects water schemes in Thar but he chose to construct surface drains in the streets,” he surprised.

He also disclosed another schemes, Improvement of different roads, streets, including water and sewerage scheme in a constituency of East Karachi of Rs217 million was included in PSDP. “This might be in a MPA constituency but the Supreme Court has given a judgement that no MPA could be given development scheme directly then how they have allocated Rs217 million for an MPA in District East.

The chief minister added that in District Central Karachi a Rs120 million has been included in the PSDP. “This is not the job of Prime Minister to give small schemes of local bodies level to his MPAs and execute them through SIDCL. “We had sent them seven water sector schemes but they didn’t consider them,” he said and added they were lining of KB Feeder, Kotri Barrage to Keenjhar. In 2018-19 it was in PSDP and this year they dropped it [from PSDP].

He said that another scheme of providing fresh water in Manchar which they had included it in 2019-20 but now they dropped it. He added that Lyari Expressway was a Rs2 billion throw-forward scheme under which displaced people had to be re-located but this schemes has also been dropped.

He also complained that during the NEC meeting his microphone was muted and then he took up the matter on which the prime minister denied of issuing any such orders and said he would give opportunity to each and every chief minister to express their views. “This is what the staff of the prime minister secretariat doing with him,” he said.

Shah said that out of 24 new schemes included in the next PSDP, not a schemes belonged to Sindh. He said that Hyderabad - Sukkur road was not being constructed and the federal government has kept Rs100 million against a total cost Rs175 billion of the project. Now, the federal government was planning to include it in BOT projects. He said that the federal government has not given Sindh any new schemes. “Yes, In power sector they have given only one schemes for Dhabeji Special Economic Zone”.

Replying to a question, the chief minister said that in Health sector the Sindh government performance was comparatively better than the other provinces.

Talking about K-IV, the chief minister said that it was a Rs25 billion project and then revised to and Rs33 billion. “Recently, a Debt Reconciliation Commission was constituted and the head of the commission called the officers of Sindh government working on K-IV and insulted them as if the K-IV project was being made on loan. “It is a government project and is being financed equally by federal and provincial governments,” he said.

The chief minister concluding his press conference said that the federal government was taking up 20 schemes through SIDCL in the name of PM. “We have serious objections on SIDCL as to why such companies have not been formed in other provinces where the federal government was investing massively,” he question.

He reiterated that Sindh was not a colony of Islamabad where development was being done through a federally controlled company.