Corruption in Balochistan

People of Balochistan, on whose name these funds will be received from federal government, are only being exploited

TURBAT: In October 2013, the chief minister of Balochistan vowed to ensure good governance and blamed various problems of the province on the lack of good governance over the years. Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said the government would put a stop to financial irregularities and prevent corruption and the squandering of public funds. However, people across the entire province have their hopes for the betterment of their lives shattered.

Despite these political statements and the fact that the current regime has completed two years in office, the people of the province continue to face the same problems as before. These problems include unemployment, poverty, lack of education and poor health care. Corruption is prevalent in all social institutions. People are being appointed on jobs on political basis rather than on merit, and the government seems to be giving jobs to certain classes and families only.

The budget of Balochistan for the fiscal year 2014 was Rs215 billion and 77 per cent of this was spent on non-developmental expenditure. If we look at past trends, it seems that all of these funds, including the mega projects that the federal government plans on initiating here, will be systematically misappropriated by corrupt officers. The people of Balochistan, on whose name these funds will be received from the federal government, are only being exploited. I request the federal and provincial governments to take prompt action against those who are involved in corruption.

Arshid Rahim Baloch

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th,  2015.

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