Lagging development
Taxpayers contribute a portion of their hard-earned income each year with the expectation that their money will be used to improve public welfare. Yet in Sindh, the word 'development' has become little more than a catchphrase - repeated in budget speeches and project announcements, but rarely reflected in real outcomes. With less than two months left in the financial year, the provincial government has suddenly sprung into action, issuing a barrage of tenders for new projects that cannot be executed within the ongoing fiscal year.
In the first week of May alone, the Highways Division floated tenders for over 200 projects, including the construction of 125 roads in Umarkot and the installation of 77 CC drains in Larkana. It is common knowledge that even after a tender is issued, awarding contracts and mobilising resources take time. Realistically, work on these projects will only begin after the current fiscal year ends, on June 30. Expenditure statistics also reveal a pattern. While 88% of the Rs1,925 billion allocated for non-development expenditures had already been spent by early May, only 69% of the Rs959 billion earmarked for development was utilised. This means non-development spending takes priority, while actual progress on ground-level infrastructure and services remains sluggish - a deliberate strategy to create the illusion of action while sidestepping accountability. Instead of including ready-to-execute projects in the annual budget - those with approved PC-1s and cleared formalities - departments continue to propose schemes that are nowhere near implementation. As a result, the first three quarters of the year are spent navigating bureaucratic red tape, and the last quarter is wasted in rushed, last-minute tendering.
If the Sindh government is serious about development, it must commit to better planning. Budgets should only include projects that are implementation-ready. Otherwise, this yearly charade of late tenders will continue to betray public trust and deepen the crisis of governance.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
18 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Sentence suspension in £190m case: IHC grants 7-day to NAB for appointing special prosecutor in IK, Bushra's pleas
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) granted seven days to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) for appointing special prosecutor in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi's appeals seeking suspension of their sentence in £190 million case. A two-member bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Sardar Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, on Thursday, heard the case and adjourned the hearing until June 11, when the NAB told the court that it needed time to prepare arguments for the case. During the hearing, Barrister Salman Safdar, representing the Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi argued that the petitions for suspension of the sentence were heard, after much prayers and supplications, adding that today's date has not been given easily. NAB Prosecutor Rafay Maqsood appeared before the court and said that his request is that the federal government had to appoint a special prosecutor in this case but he has not been appointed yet. Rafay prayed the court to grant four week, stating that they had received the notice yesterday. The acting chief justice said for issuing notification for the prosecution team seven days are enough. Salman Safdar contended that more than 300 cases have been filed against the founder of PTI and the trial court sentenced him. Lawyer Latif Khosa said 'the PTI founder is in jail without any evidence; the PTI founder neither will go abroad nor is there any risk of tampering with the record.' The court directed the NAB prosecution team to notify the special prosecutor within seven days and adjourned the hearing until June 11. In this matter, founder PTI Imran Khan and his spouse Bushra Bibi approached the IHC seeking suspension of their sentences in the £190 million case. They moved the court through their counsel Barrister Salman Safdar and cited the state and the chairman NAB as respondents. Counsel Salman stated in petition that the petitioners were convicted by the Accountability Court (I) Islamabad through judgment dated 17.01.2025, wherein, they were held guilty for commission of offence of corruption and corrupt practices as defined u/s 9(a)(ii)(iv)(vi) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 and Imran was sentenced u/s 10(a) of the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 to undergo rigorous imprisonment (RI) for 14 years and fine amounting to Rs1,000,000. Through the instant petition, they sought indulgence of this court for 'Suspension' of conviction and sentence awarded to them, till the final disposal of the main appeal already filed in the IHC. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Express Tribune
19 hours ago
- Express Tribune
GDP growth forecasted at mere 2.44%
Listen to article Pakistan's economy continues to face challenges in achieving meaningful growth, with projections for the fiscal year 2024-25 indicating a slow recovery. According to estimates from the Lahore School of Economics Modelling Lab, GDP growth is expected to reach only 2.44%, reflecting a slight improvement from the 1.7% growth recorded in the previous fiscal year but still remaining below par. These projections broadly align with official figures, including a recent revision by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, which lowered its Q3 GDP growth estimate from 2.7% to 2.4%. While international institutions such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and Asian Development Bank (ADB) have provided slightly higher projections ranging from 2.5% to 2.7%, the overall picture still reflects a sluggish economic recovery. One of the main reasons for the weak growth outlook is the poor performance in key productive sectors, particularly manufacturing and agriculture. Large-Scale Manufacturing (LSM), which should ideally be a driving force for GDP growth, has contracted by 1.9% during the current fiscal year. This continues a trend of stagnation and decline observed over the past two years. In the absence of manufacturing growth, the economy has had to rely heavily on agriculture. However, the agricultural sector has also underperformed, growing at just 0.56%only a quarter of its historical trend rate. The disappointing agricultural growth is largely due to a significant contraction in the production of major crops. Wheat production has dropped by 9%, from 32 million tonnes to 29 million tonnes, while maize has declined by 15%, from 10 million tonnes to 8 million tonnes. Sugarcane production fell by 4%, and rice saw a marginal decrease of 1.4%. Cotton suffered the sharpest fall, contracting by 31%, with output reducing from 10 million to 7 million bales. Analysts argue that this sharp decline cannot be blamed on weather patterns, which have remained consistent. Instead, they attribute the drop to government policy changesmost notably, the removal of long-standing support prices for key crops, a decision that has likely discouraged production. Furthermore, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) measures these crop contractions only in terms of volume, not monetary value. This may result in an underestimation of the actual impact on GDP. For instance, the price of wheat has declined by about Rs1,000 per 40 kg compared to the previous season, reducing the overall value of wheat production by nearly 25%. This translates to significant income losses for farmers and suggests that the real contraction in the agricultural sector could be even worse than officially reported. On the inflation front, the situation has improved compared to previous years, but it still remains a concern. Inflation for FY202425 is projected at 8.37% by the Lahore School's model, higher than the government's upper-end estimate of 7.5% and significantly above the IMF's estimate of 5.1%. The major driver of high inflation in recent years has been the depreciation of the exchange rate, which has now somewhat stabilised due to more effective monetary policies and intervention by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). However, energy prices remain a key contributor to inflation. It is estimated that they add around 4% to the inflation rate, primarily due to increased government taxes rather than higher supplier costs. There has been a trade-off between taming inflation and stimulating growth. The current low inflation has come at the cost of stifling agriculture, the only productive sector showing some promise in the absence of manufacturing growth. Experts warn that while bringing inflation down is important, it should not come at the cost of agricultural output, especially when manufacturing is already in decline. Another structural challenge remains the current account deficit, which has long constrained Pakistan's GDP growth. Historical data show that whenever GDP growth exceeds 5%, the current account deficit tends to widen sharply due to increased imports, which are highly sensitive to economic growth. While remittances provide temporary relief, they are not a sustainable solution. With global trade becoming more volatile due to tariff wars and changing regulations, the potential for export-led growth appears to be diminishing. One proposed solution is to focus on investment-led growth by liberalising the import of investment goods. This would allow domestic industries to upgrade their capabilities and drive growth, provided that non-essential consumption imports are controlled to maintain current account balance. Overall, the outlook for Pakistan's economy remains cautious. While inflation is being brought under control, the country has yet to find a solid path to sustainable and inclusive growth. Both manufacturing and agriculture need policy support, and investment strategies must be realigned to address structural weaknesses in the economy, the LSE Modelling Lab added.
Express Tribune
20 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Imran, Bushra fail to get Eid relief
Imran Khan and Bushra Babi could not get a relief ahead of Eidul Azha as the Islamabad High Court (IHC) allowed the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to appoint a special prosecutor to present its point of view on the couple's pleas seeking the suspension of their sentences in the £190m case. A division bench of the capital's high court, comprising IHC Acting Chief Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Muhammad Asif, on Thursday took up the PTI founder's and his wife's applications, seeking their release on bail after suspension of their sentences in the corruption case. During the hearing, Barrister Salman Safdar, representing Imran and Bushra, quipped that they had managed to get the applications listed for hearing "after countless prayers and pleas". He claimed that cases Toshakhana I case, Toshakhana II, and then the £190 million case – were fabricated to keep the couple behind bars. "This is the most controversial verdict. The Supreme Court had made observations on the judge who delivered this verdict," he said. Islamabad Accountability Court-I Judge Nasir Javed Rana on January 17 sentenced former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi respectively to 14 and seven years in prison in the £190 million case In addition to the prison sentences, the court also imposed fines of Rs1 million on Imran and Rs500,000 on Bushra. The couple later challenged the verdict in the IHC. Referring to other cases, Safdar said the trial courts convict Imran and Bushra but high courts later state that the convictions are wrong and suspend such verdicts. NAB Prosecutor Rafiq Maqsood stated that he was informed about the case just a day earlier and received the notice only the previous night. "I request that since the federal government has to appoint a special prosecutor for this case, and correspondence is needed with the Ministry of Law, we should be granted four weeks' time," he said. Safdar, however, requested the court to decide Bushra's plea for suspension of her sentence prior to Eid." "If they want to bring a special team against the PTI founder, they can go aheadwe are not afraid," he added. Latif Khosa, who also belongs to the PTI, said Imran Khan is in jail without any evidence. "He has no intention of fleeing the country or tampering with the record," he said. The court remarked that the legal team should be given time to notify their representation. It adjourned the hearing until June 11.
