Govt plans to purchase new cars for babus

Despite the province’s economic woes, bureaucrats will be receiving brand new vehicles

KARACHI:

Underdeveloped areas like Tharparkar, which are still deeply entrenched in poverty and malnutrition, require a comprehensive and sustainable plan of action to improve the health prospects of their inhabitants however, when the government starts prioritizing the opulence of its officers over the lives of its vulnerable masses, it is no surprise that women and children in the interior parts of the province continue to suffer endlessly.

Despite the endemic nature of poverty and unemployment in much of the province, the Sindh government has completed its preparations for purchasing a new lot of expensive cars for hundreds of its officers.

Read: Govt swings into action after Thar suicides

The vehicles that will be bought from the current financial year's funds, before the next budget, include 1300 cc Toyota Yaris cars worth Rs4.9 million on average for Assistant Commissioners working in urban tehsils or sub-divisions, alongside 4x4 Double Cabin Standard Edition cars costing Rs10 million, which will be assigned to officers working in rural areas. Furthermore, even more expensive cars have been planned for Deputy Commissioners in the province's 31 districts and 150 sub-divisions.

“The government’s decision to purchase new cars for officers can only be termed a non-productive expenditure. Given the current economic situation, the federal and provincial governments should avoid such expenses. Such superfluous spending is a problem not only in Sindh but also in all of the other provinces and the federal government,” opined Kaiser Bengali, an economist.

While overspending might be a national problem afflicting all levels of the country’s leadership, it is a much bigger cause of concern in a province, where a significantly large percentage of the population continues to battle endemic poverty and malnutrition.

Ali Akbar Rahimoo, a social activist from Tharparkar, the area of the province worst affected by malnutrition was also of the opinion that the government should curtail non-productive expenditures and invest more in projects which guarantee a permanent solution to the vice of malnutrition in Tharparkar.

Read: ‘Stunting down to 50% in Tharparkar’

Water resources are reduced in the Thar desert during the period of April to July every year. Since rains are inconsistent in Thar, production of local food resources and vegetation is scanty. Moreover, the lack of drinking water causes a drought-like situation as a result of which many people especially pregnant women and newborn babies suffer complications since the poor nutrition status of the mother severely affects the growth of the baby,” explained Rahimoo.

According to data from the World Bank, almost half of the province's population of 47.89 million lives in rural areas, with 37 per cent of the rural population living below the poverty line. Moreover, the poverty rate in flood-affected areas is even higher at 53.4 per cent. The report further claimed that 49.9 per cent of women and children suffer from malnutrition due to extreme levels of poverty. Concurrently, another report from the World Bank reveals that Sindh, among all other provinces, has the highest rate of maternal and child mortality.

On the other hand, speaking to the Express Tribune on the matter, the Provincial Minister for Development and Planning, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, defended the proposed car purchases, by arguing that it was a necessary expenditure. ”Funds have already been allocated for it in the current financial year's budget. Cars are needed for official duties and the government is not wasting money on luxuries,” he defended.