IPSOS survey on Budget 2021-22: Three out of five Pakistanis skeptical about getting any benefit

ISLAMABAD: IPSOS, a global market research firm, has found that three out of five Pakistanis are skeptical about getting any benefit from this budget 2021-22.

According to the findings of the survey done by IPSOS, Pakistanis had split expectations on the government’s ability to deliver on its commitment given in the budget. Men and lower working-class hold pessimistic view on this while rich elite have very positive hopes from this budget for 2021-22. The survey found that 43 percent respondents were hopeful that the government would deliver on its commitment announced in the budget while 43 percent were pessimistic about the ability of the government to deliver on its promises unveiled in the budget.

Among males, 51 percent respondents were not hopeful about the government’s ability to deliver on its budget promises while 35 percent were confident that it could deliver. Among females, 58 percent respondents were hopeful that the government could deliver on its commitments announced in the budget while 34 percent were pessimistic about the government’s ability to fulfill its commitments. In urban areas, 44 percent respondents were not hopeful about the government’s ability to deliver on budget promises while 45 percent were quite optimistic about it. In rural areas, 47 percent were confident that the government could deliver on budget commitments while 41 percent were pessimistic about it.

There was a split response about the capability of the government to deliver on its budget promises in four provinces as 41 percent respondents were hopeful about the government’s performance in Sindh while 40 percent were pessimistic about it. There are 52 percent respondents in Punjab who seemed confident about the capability of the government to deliver on budgetary promises while 42 percent are pessimistic about it. In KP, there are 50 percent who are hopeful about the ability of the government to deliver while 34 percent are pessimistic about it.

There is quite strange result in Balochistan as 63 percent respondents feel that the government cannot deliver and only 19 percent are confident about the ability of the government to deliver on budget promises.

When asked what benefits the general public would get, 58 percent respondents replied that they would get nothing. There are 21 percent respondents who expect decrease in inflation. There are 20 percent who expect increased income, 6 percent will buy new cars, 6 percent will buy new mobile phones and 6 percent will easily buy a new house.