PPP continues to face criticism for ‘bungling uplift funds’

PTI lawmakers claim over 26,000 govt schools deprived of potable water

KARACHI:

As the debate on Sindh's development budget from the previous day continued in the provincial Assembly on Tuesday, lawmakers from the opposition criticised the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government for bungling development funds. In reaction, the members of the treasury benches, however, lauded the government's performance, claiming that unprecedented uplift work had been carried out in the province over the past 12 years.

Discussion on the lack of potable water in government schools dominated the session, with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Shahzad Qureshi drawing attention towards the issue in a fiery address.

Read: PTI slams PPP for neglecting development

"Around 26,000 government schools lack this facility. We want to know where are development funds spent and why the government has failed at ensuring the supply of potable water to schools," the lawmaker said.

Mangla Sharma of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan raised the issue of delays in the completion of the Safe City project, an initiative aimed at curbing crime.

"The scheme was conceived six years ago no progress has been made on it yet. We have been told that the scheme is in doldrums and no one is able to tell us when the project will be launched," she decried.

This followed a tirade against the Sindh government by Grand Democratic Alliance's (GDA's) Nusrat Seher Abbasi, who accused the provincial government of looting and plundering resources.

"The [Sindh] chief minister is incompetent and developments funds are spent on Bilawal House," she alleged.

At that, Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani asked the GDA MPA to avoid levelling allegations.

"You should approach the court with proof [of your allegations] instead of crying in the house," the speaker said.

Read more: PTI govt’s attempt to blackmail, harass SC judge has failed: Bilawal

In response, Abbasi remarked, "A day will come when PPP leaders and lawmakers will face a tough time in Sindh."

When it was his turn to speak, former Sindh chief minister and PPP stalwart Qaim Ali Shah said, "Opposition members here always focus on non-issues and never have any thing positive to share."

He said the Sindh government had launched multiple development schemes worth billions of rupees.

"It's the PPP government that has generated power from coal and established a network of universities and hospitals in the province," he maintained.

The speaker adjourned the session until April 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2021.