The sorry tale of Sindh

Sindh government only spent 53 per cent of the funds released under the provincial annual development programme

When one looks at the dismal state of development in Sindh, one would imagine that the provincial government would be going all-out in spending every rupee at its disposal to lift people out of their misery. Instead, what one sees is a tight-fisted Sindh government, spending only 53 per cent of the funds released under the provincial annual development programme, with health, education and katchi abadis, remaining neglected areas. Yet, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari continues to criticise the federal government for not allocating Sindh its “fair share” in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The question to him is simple: what has the Sindh government achieved with the Rs119.2 billion it did receive during 11 months of the ongoing fiscal year? It has spent only Rs63.4 billion of this sum, and of the Rs72 million released for katchi abadis, the expenditure stood at exactly zero. Has Sindh been able to completely alleviate the miserable conditions prevalent in katchi abadis making it unnecessary to spend any money on them?

These statistics tell a very sorry tale. Simply put, they tell us that even when Sindh has the money, it chooses not to spend it. The province, despite contributing its fair share to the national economy, continues to be ignored, with most government officials complaining that they don’t receive the required funds. Conversations with PPP officials end in a blame-game targeting the federal government. How has the PPP really helped Sindh after serving out a full term in power at both the federal and provincial levels? An amount of around Rs56 billion is lying unused in its kitty and Sindh’s ruling party still wants a greater share in the federal PSDP. We don’t necessarily have a problem with this demand of the PPP, but urge it to realise that such demands end up sounding hollow as it has failed to work diligently on Sindh’s infrastructure and human development.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th, 2016.

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