Non-development expenditures continue to burden treasury

Salaries for employees of underperforming, overlapping departments expend the yearly budget

KARACHI:

Taxpayer's money should ideally be spent on initiatives that benefit the local people. However, in Sindh, a huge portion of the yearly budget is spent on the salaries of employees serving in overlapping departments, leaving behind no resources to address the poverty plaguing the remote areas of the province.

According to official data, the total budget for the current fiscal year 2024-25 is Rs3375 billion, of which only Rs959 billion has been allocated for development expenditure, which is barely 28 per cent of the total budget. On the other hand, about 48 percent of the total budget is being spent on the salaries and benefits of government employees. Data from the Finance Department revealed that Rs737 billion was allocated for the salaries and benefits of government employees in last year's budget, while Rs988 billion has been allocated for this purpose in the current fiscal year. Hence, the expenditure on salaries and benefits of government employees has increased by Rs251 billion in just one year -- however, the overall development budget has increased by only Rs224 billion.

Dr Kaiser Bengali, a renowned economist, revealed that the Sindh government has unnecessarily created several departments in each sector, which are incurring additional expenses on separate offices and employee benefits. "For instance, the education sector includes the Primary Education Department, Middle Education Department, Secondary Education Department, Higher Education Department, College Education Department, Technical Education Department and Universities and Boards Department. All the above departments can be merged into one department and steps can be taken to reduce unnecessary expenses. In areas like Sujawal and Thatta, 75 per cent of the residents are forced to live below the poverty line. The Sindh government can provide employment opportunities to people in these areas by reducing its non-developmental expenses. For example, tomato ketchup factories can be set up in Sujawal district while children's cereal production plants can be set up in areas where rice is cultivated more," said Dr Bengali.

According to sources of The Express Tribune, there are 63 official departments in Sindh for which separate budgets are allocated every year. Like the education department, there are many departments that can be merged together to reduce expenditures. For example, Works and Services and Education Works are two separate departments with the same function. Both departments have been established for the construction and repair of government buildings. The only difference is that the Education Works Department only carries out the construction and repair of educational institutions.

Similarly, the Housing and Town Planning Department and the Human Settlement, Special Development and Social Housing Department have been created for the same type of work. The only difference between the two is that one department only plans slums. Similarly, the Social Welfare Department and the Social Protection Department are two separate institutions created for social welfare. They can also be merged and made into one department. Likewise, the Home Department, the Police Department and the Prisons Department are three separate departments that oversee the arrangements for law and order and crime prevention.

The Sindh government has also created more than one department related to food, including the Agriculture Department, the Food Department and the Livestock and Fisheries Department. These three departments too can be merged into one. There are also three separate departments related to human rights. These include the Department of Human Rights and the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The only difference is that one department specifically oversees the affairs of minorities while the other oversees the affairs of differently-abled persons.

Meanwhile, Sindh government spokesperson and member of Sindh Assembly Sadia Javed while talking to The Express Tribune assured that the Sindh government will make every effort to reduce non-developmental expenses as much as possible and increase the development budget.