Lawmakers’ input will be considered as far as resources permit: minister

Rehman rejects the impression that pre-budget debate is not a serious affair.

LAHORE: The provincial government will try to incorporate as many suggestions put forth in the House for the upcoming budget as is possible within the available resources. The impression that the pre-budget debate is not a serious affair is not correct, Finance Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman said on Friday.

He was responding to questions about the mechanism for incorporation of suggestions put forth during the ongoing pre-budget session into the provincial budget for the upcoming fiscal year. Muhammad Ahmad Khan, Ehsan Riaz Fatyana and Vickas Hassan Mokal had asked Rehman about his department’s plan for incorporation of lawmakers’ suggestions, saying the budget for the upcoming year had already been drafted.

Rehman told the House that 60 members had taken part in the pre-budget debate, 54 of whom were from the treasury benches and the rest from the opposition.

His address, which was to conclude the proceedings of the pre-budget session, was cut short and the session adjourned till Monday as Fatyana pointed out quorum. Despite protests by Rehman and Deputy Speaker Sher Ali Gorchani, who was chairing the session, Fatyana persisted that such an important speech should be delivered before a House in full attendance.

Earlier, lawmakers sought greater allocations for schools, hospitals and sewerage systems. In particular, they said, the quality of these services in the southern districts needed immediate improvement. Some of them sought targeted allocations for these districts. Saqib Khurshid stressed the need for setting up more colleges in his constituency in Vehari. Nighat Sheikh sought a contingency budget for the agriculture sector.

Other suggestions put forth during Friday’s debate were an enhanced allocation of funds for technical training institutes and Rescue 1122, bigger quotas for minorities in technical training institutes, provision of facilities at public spaces to make them accessible for people with disabilities, establishment of high-security prisons for detaining terrorists and extension of Metro Bus service to Kasur.

Question hour also postponed

The question hour was postponed till Monday owing to the absence of relevant officials from the Home Department. The House was informed that the home minister had to attend an Apex Committee meeting which prevented him from coming to the session. The chair, however, expressed annoyance at the absence of any other officials from the department. “It seems that the bureaucracy considers the proceedings of the House a joke.
The world will not come to an end if they take some time out of their schedules to attend the question hour,” he said.

Zakat and Ushr Minister Malik Nadeem Kamran was censured over the absence of officials from his department and asked to ensure their presence during the question hour in future.

Questions pertaining to the Home Department will now be taken up on Tuesday.

Routine proceedings

The University of Sahiwal Bill and the University of Jhang Bill were introduced and referred to the standing committee on education.

Responding to Faiza Malik’s reference to some reports that had predicted a more severe dengue outbreak later this year, the chair directed Chief Minister’s Advisor on Health Khwaja Salman Rafiq to brief the House on the matter on Monday.

The House was informed about a special audit report on the accounts of livestock experimental stations of the Livestock and Dairy Development Department for the year 2008-2009. Other issues raised during the session were standardisation and price control of fertilisers and pesticides, targeted killings in Faisalabad and delay in Law Department’s response to the proposed raises in salaries of the Assembly staff.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th, 2015.