Allocate, then deviate: In Sindh, development remains limited to paper

Education, health, local govt and transport depts show most dismal performance.

KARACHI:

In Sindh, development is not something they take lightly. In fact, the government gives it so much credence that it spends most of the time just planning it. Most of the projects, however, do not see the light of day.

Keeping with the status quo, the Sindh government has once again used zero per cent funds that had been earmarked for a majority of the development schemes in the current fiscal year, 2014-15. According to the quarterly progress report published by the finance department, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, education, health, local government and transport departments show the most dismal performance with regards to development schemes.

Education is key

Take the education department for example. A total of 378 schemes were earmarked for this particular department with Rs10,709 million allocated for the projects. Unfortunately, only around Rs291 million have been spent on 23 schemes in the first quarter that runs between July and September. The rest of the schemes are still awaiting approval by the relevant authorities after which the funds will be released.



"Around Rs1 billion has been allocated for the reconstruction of schools that damaged by the floods in 2010-11 in Dadu, Jamshoro, Matiari, Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Thatta, Mirpurkhas and Sanghar but not a single penny has been utilised so far," said the report.  Moreover, the Sindh government had announced to establish 25 English-medium schools in each district for which the education department had set aside a sum of Rs3,500 million. The finance department has released Rs400 million for the project but the status of expenditure of the funds is still 'zero'. Besides, the budget papers had declared the buildings of some schools 'most dangerous' and allocated Rs1,500 for their rehabilitation. The funds have not been utilised so far.

Focus on health?

The quarterly progress reports paints an equally dismal picture of the health department where Rs132,24.924 million had been allocated for 208 schemes. The department has managed to spend only Rs676 million of the total. Funds have been released for only 37 schemes.

You may recall the Sindh government's decision to establish liver transplantation units at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) that had made headlines some time ago. The chief minister and his cabinet members had patted themselves on the back for the initiative. The quarterly progress report has, however, paled their chest-thumping as the sum of Rs500 million allocated for the project has yet to be released.

Similar is the story with the Rs177 million accident and trauma centre in Benazirabad, the Rs750 million SIUT medical complex in Sukkur, the Rs500 million project of constructing emergency treatment centres at every 100 kilometres on highways, another Rs500 million project of establishing mortuary facilities at all teaching hospitals in Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana and Sukkur as well as the dengue prevention and control programmes in various districts.

For his part, the newly-appointed health minister Jam Mahtab Dahar told The Express Tribune that the "delays in initiating development schemes seemed to be because of the tendering process and some technical hitches." He failed to justify the delays but hoped that work on all the schemes will be completed by the end of the fiscal year.

"The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has broken all records of development," he announced. When questioned about the progress of his department, he excused himself by saying, "I cannot remember everything on my fingertips. You can call me later and I will share the details with you." Subsequent to this call, the minister did not attend his phone despite several attempts to contact him.

Transport

There are only four development schemes for the transport department, for which a sum of Rs3,216 million has been allocated. Needless to say, not a single penny has been utilised thus far. The minister for transport, Mumtaz Jakhrani, explained that he had ordered the officials to give priority to last years' schemes. "The green line bus project has now been taken over by federal government. We have finalised the PC-I and sent it to them," he said, adding that transport department has invited international bids for the diesel buses which will be started soon.

The local government is the largest department where 653 schemes worth Rs21,886.778 million had been proposed. Only 61 schemes have been taken up on which the government has spent Rs912 million so far.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 17^th, 2014.