PPP preparing election-oriented budget

In the run-up to the general elections, due in 2013, the PPP-led Sindh government is drafting the next budget with a perspective to raise itself more stakes by allocating more funds to lawmakers for uplift schemes. With Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah in the chair, a meeting at the CM’s Secretariat on Wednesday advised and instructed the Finance, Planning & Development departments to draw up a budgetary document that would attract voters to the PPP in the next polls. Sources said the chief executive, while instructing officials, said that “as this financial document would be the final budget of the incumbent government, it should be made in such a manner that the people get its benefits and forget that the government was serious in their welfare, besides the development of the province”. The officials were advised to chalk out a strategy with the consultation of all public representatives so that their demands were incorporated, sources said. The chief minister, in his clear guidelines, directed the departments concerned to come up with a plan to include more schemes and funds that could be completed within the final year of the present government’s term. Quoting the chief minister, the sources said that the upcoming provincial budget should be on welfare schemes, on relief. Sources privy to the meeting told The Nation that with an increase of up to 25 per cent in the provincial development budget from Rs111 billion of the current financial year, the CM directed the finance and planning departments to include more ongoing uplift schemes that could be completed in the upcoming year of 2012-13, before the general elections. Although there is a policy to allocate over 75 per cent funds for the ongoing schemes and 25 per cent for new schemes in the budget, it was not implemented during the last four years of the government, official sources said. “Allocation of more funds for ongoing schemes must be ensured in the upcoming budget,” an official quoted Qaim as having said.The meeting, which discussed budgetary proposals and financial requirements for the next annual budget, was directed by the chief minister to accommodate maximum schemes of public welfare, keeping in view the problems of the common man.Qaim underlined the need for accommodating maximum schemes for MPAs together with the completion of the ongoing schemes. He directed that the allocation for the next Annual Development Programme would be enhanced so that maximum development schemes could be completed.During the meeting, the Planning & Development Department and Finance Department presented detailed briefing about size and scope of the next ADP.The meeting was attended by Sindh Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Additional Chief Secretary (P&D) Malik Israr, Secretary Finance Naveed Kamran Baloch, Special Secretary P&D department Dr. Noor, Principal Secretary to C.M Sindh Agha Jan Akhtar and others. e t