To woo the working class, Sindh govt to add 50,000 jobs in budget

CM likely to present budget on June 2, depts scramble to use up remaining funds

KARACHI: In light of the upcoming general elections, the Sindh government will be adding 50,000 jobs to next year's budget, which is likely to be presented by Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on June 2.

Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune that health, education and police will be among other sectors where the government will appoint these employees. "Around 6,000 doctors will be appointed and there is a proposal to induct more than 20,000 lady health workers in the province," disclosed a senior health department official, adding that the department has proposed to increase its development budget from Rs14 billion to Rs16 billion.

A major chunk of the budget will be spent on ongoing schemes, such as the establishment of laboratories, trauma centres, medical and surgical ICUs, basic health centres, new OPD blocks in government hospitals, upgrade of maternity hospitals and hospitals with between 100 and 400 beds in various districts.



"In the current year's budget, the government allocated funds for around 153 development schemes but in the last three quarters performance has been dismal as not a single penny has been released for 76 schemes that are now stagnant," said official sources. The sources added that most of the budget will be spent in the last month of the current financial year.

"They will show the expenditure at the eleventh hour, purchasing various items and awarding tenders in order to show that the allocated funds have been spent," explained an official.

According to the budget books, the Sindh government allocated a total outlay of Rs869 billion for the current fiscal year, reflecting a rise of 15% over the previous year. In the budget, Rs225 billion was earmarked for the Annual Development Programme (ADP), of which hardly 50% has been spent so far.  "Next year, they are planning to increase 10% to 15% funds in the ADP, putting the total development portfolio at around Rs2.24 trillion to Rs2.25 trillion," said sources in the finance department, adding that the final decision will be made a day before the budget is presented.



The education department will see a 15% increase in its budget, revealed the official. "We have proposed to increase the education department's development budget from Rs13 billion to Rs15 billion," said an additional secretary of the department, adding that Rs10 billion will be set aside for schools and Rs5 billion for college education.

Officials said the allocation is not a big issue, utilisation, however, is a challenge for the government. "The efficiency of the incumbent government can be measured by the fact that out of 396 total development schemes in the education sector, they have not initiated work on 270 schemes in the last nine months," an official lamented.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar said there were some technical issues and bureaucratic hurdles that set the slow pace of development work in his department. Three to four secretaries were transferred and posted in the department, he explained.



"Despite all these issues we have delivered excellent performance this year by responding to the menace of ghost schools and starting a biometric system in the province," he said, adding that they have proposed many schemes in the upcoming financial year but are still waiting for the final approval from the CM, who also holds the finance portfolio. "We will mostly focus on ongoing schemes rather than introducing new ones," remarked Dahar.

For the police, the government will include around 10,000 vacancies for cops in the next budget. The works and services department, which mainly deals with the road sector, has proposed various schemes of Rs17 billion.

The current development budget of the department is Rs14 billion. "The CM is the final authority so we can't comment until or unless he approves our schemes," said Works and Services Minister Imdad Pitafi.


The chief minister's spokesperson said Murad has begun a series of meetings to review various departments' schemes and the final decision about the development portfolio will be made by the cabinet.

Taxation

The excise and taxation department has decided to increase its tax collection in the new financial year. "Next year will collect Rs30 billion [in tax revenue] more than the current year," said a senior official in the excise and taxation department. "We have proposed a 25% to 100% increase in the vehicle registration fee, depending on the horsepower of the vehicles," he said, adding that a 50% increase will be made in the fee to transfer vehicles from one name to another.

"In the next budget, the government has also decided to restore the entertainment fee on cinemas. We can charge a 15% entertainment duty," said an official requesting anonymity, adding that the government has decided to recover a Rs100 billion sales tax on services, which is Rs22 billion more than the current year.