Budget 2015-16: Five years. One project. No work to show

The bus service has been a regular feature of the provincial budget for the last five years

KARACHI:

The Sindh government makes a lot of promises. Most it never keeps.

Five years ago, it had set aside funds to run 500 diesel buses under the ‘Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Diesel Buses’ programme. The buses were supposed to connect major urban centres of upper and lower Sindh to Karachi. The proposal, like so many others, remains on paper.

What is ironic is that this particular programme has been a regular feature of the provincial budget over the last five years. It first appeared in the annual development programme of 2011-12. In the outgoing fiscal year, Rs59.204 million were earmarked for the project whose total cost was estimated to be Rs340 million.

Sindh transport secretary Tuaha Farooqui says the project will feature in the upcoming budget too. The transport department’s focal person, Yar Muhammad Mirjat, told The Express Tribune that the project was kicked off in 2011 and consisted of five phases. “In the first phase, 100 buses have to be brought onto the roads,” he explained. “The remaining 400 buses will be procured in the next four phases.”

This particular project is being implemented through a public-private partnership, with the Sindh government owning a 30 per cent share while the rest will be owned by the Daewoo Pakistan Express Bus Service. “The Sindh government could not have run this project on its own, which is why they opted for a public-private partnership,” he said. Mirjat added that the first phase of the project was almost complete and that a ceremony was held at the CM House around two months ago, in which two of the first 100 buses were released.

An official of the transport department, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said however that the buses released at the CM House were old ones and the ceremony was merely a sham.

For his part, Farooqui was certain that the project will be initiated in the next three to four months. “The bus terminals for the project are under construction in Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana and Sukkur,” he said. “We have outsourced the management, while the buildings and land will be taken care of by the Sindh government.” The second phase of the project will be started by the beginning of 2016, he hoped.

The focal person, meanwhile, tried to justify the delays. According to Mirjat, once the money is allocated to the project, two committees - technical and steering - evaluate it. “Once they grant the approval, the administration has to approve it. Finally, after ‘the finance department authenticates, sanctions and audits it, the funds are released.

Contradictions aplenty

During the quest for details of the project, several contradictory statements surfaced regarding the scheme. According to Farooqui, around 25 buses have been launched under the scheme in a ceremony held at the CM House two months ago. The senior executive operational manager of the Daewoo bus service, Zubair Amir, said, however, that the company is running 10 buses as part of the promotions for the project.

“Formally this project will be launched when the Sindh Government will provide us the 100 buses for the first phase,” he said, adding that the 10 buses will be taken back by the company. According to him the Sindh government will not only provide them with the buses and the land for the terminals but also subsidise the fares. “The project will be completely functional, with all 500 diesel buses by 2020.”

On the other hand, Farooqui claimed there won’t be any subsidy for the project. The Sindh government will only provide the land and the buildings. “They will have to bring the buses themselves,” he said.

As the contradictions and confusion deepens, it seems likely that the scheme will feature in the budget books over the next few years, but the buses will never ply the roads.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 12^th, 2015.