Budget debate: MQM-P's veteran demands audit of Sindh government's 10-year expenditures

At the post-budget session of Sindh Assembly on Saturday, MQM-P's accused the ruling PPP of bias towards the urban centers and called for audit of the Sindh government's 10-year spending and investment. The MQM-P's veteran Syed Sardar Ahmed called the government's spending from public accounts as wrong and also questioned the government for not auditing its 10-year investment.
He said that the government also shunned showing the profit from the huge investments in fiscal budget 2018-19. He said that government, in its tenure, made Rs198 million of investments. He said there has never been a loss on investment but the government showed Rs4 million of spending on that count too. He said government also invested Rs2 million of coal mine, illegally.
"Sindh government also avoided showing income from public-private partnership in the proposed budget," he said, adding that Rs24 billion losses in state-trading of wheat, however, was mentioned.
Therefore, Sardar Ahmed stressed that an audit for said Rs24 billion must conducted to unearth where this amount had gone. He said probe into the huge investments and state-trading should be conducted to end corruption.
MQM's veteran also lamented that no details of return of small loans under Waseela-e-Haq program were provided. He demanded of PPP government to hand over NIF funds to districts. He urged the government to ensure audit of the Sindh Food Department spending, as losses in crops trading are shown every year in budget.
Sardar expressed concern over no program to deal with urban poverty and no allocations for eliminating rural deprivations in the public. He said a 'shamshan ghat' (funeral place of Hindus) is needed to help the minority carry out their corps rituals and Muslim residents of Clifton too need a graveyard for burial of deceased Muslims. He said non-release of development funds to opposition legislators was nothing but discrimination because government released funds only for the PPP members' uplift schemes. PML-N's Syed Haider Shah Shirazi blamed the PPP government for not carrying out uplift projects in Thatta District. He asked the government to show the funds spending, which she allocated for the district development. "Where the funds allocated for Thatta had gone," he questioned. He said the district schools lack furniture and it seems people of Thatta are not deemed inhabitants of Sindh province.
"In this modern era, children are compelled to learn in cottages," he said adding that about 500 schools in the entire district and 5000 in the province have been closed. Shirazi said Thatta has its historic glory in the field of education with one university and 400 madaris. He said the hospitals badly lack doctors and paramedics staff as health department's performance in Thatta and Sujawal districts remained bad. He said potable water is not available for the residents of Keti Bandar, Shah Bandar and Mirpur Sakro in district Thatta. PPP's Fayaz Butt demanded a trial of Nawaz Sharif under Article 6 of the Constitution for his remarks. He said there are supporters of Indian Prime Minister Modi in the house. His tirade evoked instant reaction from PML-N legislators who began shouting in protest. Butt continued his speech and also labeled PTI chairman Imran Khan a mad as the latter claimed him a youth leader. He blamed the PML-N-led federal government for all problems of the PPP's Sindh government.
However, the house was reverberating with the shouts of PML-N's protesting MPAs. Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza taunted the opposition's MPAs saying truth is harsh for PML-N legislators to swallow.
Sindh Planning and Development Minister, Saeed Ghani claimed PPP government carried out a record development in Karachi. He admitted he objected to the construction of a toilet in a girls' school in Clifton due to PTI's political motives. He claimed credit for network of underpasses, bridges and colleges in the city.
He said there is 80 percent admission in 9,000 government-run schools and 22 percent in 33000 schools out of 42,000. In Larkana, up to Rs30 billion spent on development and Rs70 billion in Tharparkar. He said the government would establish four new graveyards in the city with funeral service buses.
Sindh Education Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar said the province has 42,000 schools of which only 1700 were provided with basic daily facilities. He said the government set to provide facilities to 4000 schools with four-rooms. With a biometric system introduction in schools, he said, 80 percent teachers' attendance with schoolchildren has been ensured. He said three projects of the UNO have been completed and teachers are appointed and trained through Institute of Business Administration. MQM's Faisal Subzwari called the PPP as 'biased and corrupt.' Despite allocating Rs1500 billion in the last ten-year tenure by the PPP, the Sindh province still remains in tatters. He said not a single foreign NGO is ready to work with the discredited Sindh government.