MPA calls for ‘younger’ health minister in Sindh

Lawmakers lambast provincial budget, point out lack of schemes for Karachi, Hyderabad

KARACHI: Amid a Sindh Assembly session that involved verbal sparring between two MPAs, a lawmaker took to the floor to suggest that the Sindh government appoint a younger health minister during the coronavirus crisis.

Addressing the house in the assembly's post-budget session, Grand Democratic Alliance MPA Nusrat Seher Abbasi pointed out that those above the age of 55 could not attend assembly sessions due to the virus threat.

"The Covid-19 situation is getting worse with each passing day. I ask the health minister to please resign and hand over the charge to a younger member of the house," she stated.

Further alleging that some Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) members had taken to using derogatory language against her on social media and accusing her of receiving incentives from the government, she asked them to prove these claims or face legal notices.

Meanwhile, Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Nadeem Siddiqui rejected the budget, saying the only reason the PPP was able to pass a budget that was against the wishes of the people was because it had a majority in the house.

"Karachi and Hyderabad are major cities, where the government earns over 90 per cent of its revenue, but I cannot find any new schemes for them," he pointed out.

Siddiqui added that though the PPP criticised the Centre for not giving Sindh's due share from the National Finance Commission, it too had failed to distribute funds among districts through a provincial finance commission, which was also mandatory.

GDA lawmaker Arif Mustafa Jatoi, in his speech about the budget, claimed that machinery worth $10 million was purchased by the Sindh government through a dubious contract with a single company.

"The government talks about providing relief to daily wagers and the needy in the wake of the pandemic. We want to know where Rs2 billion in this respect have gone, because those in need denied any rations being given to them," he stated.

Moving on to the tourism budget, he claimed that he had been hearing of development funds for Gorakh Hill but it had still not been finished. "Are you building some resthouse out of gold?"

Questioning his own government, on the other hand, PPP's Qasim Siraj Soomro demanded that it provide clean drinking water to Tharparkar. "There must be a water regulatory authority and drinking water must be provided to Tharis by digging a canal," he maintained.

War of words

Pandemonium ensued when two female MPAs took to using abusive language against each other. PPP's Kulsoom Chandio lashed out at Abbasi over her speech, at which the latter protested against her remarks.

Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani, however, asked the GDA lawmaker to listen to other members of the house too. "You have finished your speech and levelled serious allegations. Now please listen to others too. There will be a reaction if you make such speeches," he said.

As Abbasi shouted in anger, Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh asked the speaker not to let her disturb the house. Matters erupted into shouts and slogans before subsiding back to normalcy.

The speaker later adjourned the session till the next day.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 23^rd, 2020.