The Balochistan government finds itself entangled in yet another financial crunch as it decided to opt for an overdraft from the State Bank of Pakistan in order to pay the pending salaries of government employees.
A senior official of the provincial finance department said that the province had no funds to pay its employees as the federal government had so far not released funds under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
“Balochistan, along with other provinces, was supposed to receive funds on July 17 to 20 under the NFC Award. However, the funds were not released. The federal government said it does not have the funds yet and has not released it to other provinces either,” the official said.
Last year, the federal government had taken a Rs17.5 billion bank overdraft as the province was unable to pay it back. The official said that Balochistan will again opt for a bank overdraft from the State Bank to pay the salary bill.
Sources revealed that the federal government had also not released its due share of the subsidy for the agriculture tube wells.
“The provincial government was supposed to release Rs2 billion in the current fiscal year and has initially only released Rs1 billion while the federal government is yet to release the funds for the tube well subsidy. The federal government is likely to release Rs4 billion in this financial year,” sources added.
Earlier in 2010, government effectively ended the subsidy on electricity for the tube wells on the dictates from the International Monetary Fund. However, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, during his visit to the flood-stricken areas of the province, announced that the federal and provincial government will provide the designated amount of subsidy for the electricity of tube wells.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 26th, 2011.
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People of Balochistan will go without food very soon under the corrupt bureaucracy and incapable politicians.
Balochistan is politically the wisest of all the provinces and Balochs are second to MQM only in political gaming. A mountain is created of every situation and in most cases one single team plays on both sides. Recent Baloch nationalist rising , ethnic cleansing and violence with the support of government machinery cannot go un noticed for ever. Those in power use the nationalist card for extracting more and more. The worst thing that is happening is that other ethnicities living in Balochistan has been marginalized. 55% of Population has been made subservient to 45% vocal populace. Farce and fudged data is employed in allocation of resources, sharing of jobs, allotment of seats whether in the assembly or in the professional colleges. A dangerous situation is emerging where the province has been divided on ethnic lines. A political and administrative balance which was always there by sharing the top offices has been stampeded since Musharraf,s era when both Gen Qadir Baloch (Now MNA PML N)and later Nawab Magsi was made Governors and Jam Yousaf was made the Chief Minister. Today we have a Baloch Governor, A Baloch Chief Minister and above all a Baloch Chief secretary known for his ethnic inclinations. What is to be realized is whether this arrangement has increased the Baloch chauvinism or promoted peace. As a matter of fact the rights of Pashtuns and settlers have been usurped in the province and injustice has further increased in the absence of any sobering voice.
Use of tubewells is suicidal. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6321-asian-farmers-sucking-the-continent-dry.html Asian farmers sucking the continent dry Do these people not know that? Star using drip agriculture.