Budget debate: Leader of Opposition calls for fiscal discipline

Points out ‘unnecessary spending’, unhappy with under-utilisation of funds .

LAHORE: Leader of Opposition in the Provincial Assembly Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed criticised the provincial government on Thursday for unnecessary expenditure and under-utilisation of budgeted funds. Opening the budget debate, he said it needed to demonstrate better fiscal discipline

Rasheed opened his three-hour speech with the suggestion that the government should check spending on Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. “According to my study of the budget, the chief minister costs the public exchequer around Rs1.7 million a day.”

Rasheed said Rs340 million had been allocated for the CM’s Secretariat the previous year but the expenses incurred stood at around Rs570 million.

“Rs130 million was allocated for the Chief Minister’s House in the previous budget but Rs140 million was spent. They talk about austerity, yet their spending suggest the contrary.” Rasheed said Rs820 million had been allocated to the CM’s House in the upcoming fiscal year. Rasheed also criticised the expenses incurred by the Governor’s House and the Governor’s Secretariat. Some of his remarks about the governor’s performance were expunged by the Speaker.

Among unnecessary expenditures, Rasheed said was the Rs640 million allocated for security of Minister’s Block. He also reiterated the demand for standing committees in the assembly to be formed for budgetary allocations.  Rasheed was also critical of what he called a Rs114 billion deficit in the proposed budget.  “They placed advertisements praising one another over the budget as if it was a huge accomplishment,” he said.

Rasheed also took a jab at the finance minister for portraying a rosy picture. Citing budget documents, Rasheed said the Punjab government was Rs533 billion in debt.

“Growth targets set for 2018, which included doubling private investment, economic growth at 7 to 8 per cent and creating 1 million jobs, were all missed according to current indicators,” he said.

Rasheed also criticised the new taxes proposed by the government, questioning the logic of the 0.09 per cent export tax and taxes on vacant plots.   Rasheed also claimed that figures in the budget books had been fudged.

“The budget figures approved by the House (last year) were different from those shown  in the 2016-2017 budget books. This is a breach of our privilege,” he said. Rasheed said there were discrepancies across all departmental allocations. Copies of the discrepancies highlighted were handed over to the finance minister.   The opposition leader pointed under-utilisation of funds in various sectors.  He said allocated funds had not been fully utilised in education, health, agriculture, livestock, industries, energy, law and order and women development departments.

By contrast, he said Rs33 billion had been allocated to the transport sector but Rs97 billion was spent. “This year, the government has allocated Rs124 billion to transport, which reflects the government’s obsession with the sector,” he said. Rasheed said the government should complete the Bab-i-Pakistan project, saying only 50 per cent of the structure had been completed at a cost of Rs860 million.

He said if the government did not complete work on the project, opposition parties would stage a sit-in after Ramazan.  Rasheed concluded his speech by calling for an end to the practice of supplementary budget. Pakistan Peoples Party’s Qazi Ahmad Saeed said the proposed budgetary allocations had neglected south Punjab.  “This is not a budget for Punjab or south Punjab. This is a budget for Lahore,” he said. He also reiterated the demand for a provincial finance commission to determine allocation of funds according to the population. Lawmakers from the Treasury benches mostly lauded the government for presenting a people-friendly budget. The debate will continue on Friday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2016.