Jamshoro district council presents tax-free budget
The Jamshoro District Council has presented a tax-free budget of Rs549.8 million for the fiscal year 2025-26. The budget was approved unanimously during a council meeting chaired by District Council Chairman Suhail Ahmed Shoro.
According to documents, the Sindh government failed to release the full allocated funds last year, while employee salaries have increased in the current year. During the session, Accounts Officer Pervez Baloch presented the budget breakdown, highlighting that Rs207 million have been earmarked for development projects.
Additional allocations include: Rs40.88 million for pensions, press clubs, social work, cultural events, and national celebrations; Rs97.3 million for engineering and infrastructure works; and Rs252.5 million for salaries of council employees.
For the current year, the Sindh government is expected to contribute: Rs352.1 million under the tax head; Rs7.05 million from property rentals; and Rs994,308 in other rents.
Chairman Shoro remarked that due to a shortfall in govt grants and the non-transfer of funds for SUG (Sindh Urban Governance) employees, the council had to disburse salaries from its allocated budget. Furthermore, the recovery of rent from district council-owned properties-such as shops and housing units-remained below 100%.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Shahnawaz Barfat advocated for greater allocations in development schemes and recommended awarding more council projects to local contractors.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Recorder
an hour ago
- Business Recorder
China calls for enhancing exchanges, security with Pakistan, Afghanistan
BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called on Pakistan and Afghanistan to strengthen trilateral exchanges at all levels, as Beijing pushes to strengthen security with its neighbours, according to a statement from the ministry. Wang, who attended a three-way meeting with his counterparts in Kabul on Wednesday, said the countries should continue to build strategic mutual trust and deepen security cooperation. China is ready to understand and support issues involving each country's core interests and firmly oppose external interference in the region as well as any organisation or individual undermining each other's national sovereignty, the minister said, according to a readout on Thursday. 'It is necessary to improve the security dialogue mechanism, deepen law enforcement and security cooperation, strengthen the fight against transnational terrorist activities, and eradicate the breeding ground for terrorism,' Wang said. The readout did not mention any terrorist groups, but a report by Chinese state media Xinhua on Wang's meeting with Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi mentioned the East Turkestan Islamic Movement. The report cited Wang as saying China hopes Afghanistan will intensify efforts to combat such terrorist forces. China shares a 596 km (370 miles) border with Pakistan that runs through the Karakoram Mountains, extending from the tripoint with Afghanistan to the disputed area with India near the Siachen Glacier. With Afghanistan, China shares a 92 km (57 miles) border that meets Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan territory. Pakistan, China, Afghanistan vow joint push against terrorism, agree on CPEC extension Wang also told his counterparts that the three countries should expand development cooperation, trade and investment exchanges, and network connectivity.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar drifts as investors ponder Fed independence ahead of Powell speech
SINGAPORE: The US dollar drifted on Thursday as investors fretted about the Federal Reserve's independence after yet another attack from President Donald Trump ahead of remarks from Chair Jerome Powell later this week that could influence the outlook for rates. Trump called on Fed Governor Lisa Cook to resign on the basis of allegations made by one of his political allies about mortgages she holds in Michigan and Georgia, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the U.S. central bank. Cook said she had 'no intention of being bullied to step down' from her position at the central bank. Trump has also told aides he is considering trying to fire Cook, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. 'It has the potential to raise questions around the Fed's oversight and regulatory functions but it has little to no near-term monetary policy implications,' said Prashant Newnaha, senior Asia-Pacific rates strategist at TD Securities. That explained the relatively muted reaction in the currency markets to the news as the dollar initially dipped on the news but was mostly calm into the Asian session. The Japanese yen held onto gains made in previous sessions and was little changed at 147.41 per dollar, while the euro was steady at $1.1642. Sterling last fetched $1.34535. That left the dollar index , which measures the U.S. currency against six other peers, steady at 98.301. Trump has repeatedly criticised Powell for being too slow to cut rates, stoking investor worries about the central bank's independence and its credibility. Investors expect Trump will replace Powell with a more dovish appointment when his term ends in May. Trump earlier this month said he would nominate Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the final few months of a vacant Fed seat after Adriana Kugler unexpectedly resigned. Kristina Clifton, a senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said if Cook resigns it would create another opening for Trump to appoint a Fed Governor who will vote to lower interest rates. 'Perceived political interference in the Federal Reserve can undermine its independence, steepening the yield curve and denting the USD's safe haven status.' Powell speech The main focus this week has been on whether Powell will push back against market expectations for a rate cut at the Fed's September 16-17 meeting when he speaks on Friday at the Jackson Hole meeting, following a weak jobs report for July. 'Markets are adamant that recent labour market data necessitates some policy calibration and are expecting Chair Powell to tip his hat in that direction,' TD's Newnaha said. Traders are pricing in an 82% chance of a 25-basis-point rate cut next month, CME FedWatch tool showed. While the odds have lowered from last week after hotter than expected producer price inflation tempered expectations, investors are still pricing in over 50 bps of easing this year. Some analysts cautioned that markets could end up being disappointed by Powell's speech, noting that the impact of Trump's tariffs on inflation remains uncertain. 'It is not clear that Powell will deliver strong guidance,' said Benoit Anne, managing director in the investment solutions group at MFS Investment Management. If the dovish signals elude us, there will be significant pricing out of the odds for a September cut.' In other currencies, the New Zealand dollar was nursing steep overnight losses at $0.58205 after diving 1.2% to its lowest level since April. New Zealand's central bank cut interest rates on Wednesday as expected but left the door wide open to yet more easing if needed. The Australian dollar eased 0.13% to $0.64245, hovering near a two-week low.
Business Recorder
2 hours ago
- Business Recorder
Dollar drifts, Asian stocks mixed as markets brace for Jackson Hole
TOKYO: The US dollar hovered below a one-week high on Thursday and Asian stock markets were broadly mixed as investors braced for three days of potentially market-moving news from the Federal Reserve's annual symposium in Jackson Hole. Central bankers from around the world will attend the event, which begins later in the day, although the key focus will be Fed Chair Jerome Powell's speech on Friday as traders look for clues on the chances of a September rate cut. Japan's Nikkei drooped 0.6% in the morning session, retreating further from the record peak reached on Tuesday. Despite a tech-led selloff on Wall Street overnight, Japanese chip stocks were a mixed bag, with Advantest up 3% while Tokyo Electron dropped 2%. South Korea's KOSPI bounced 0.9% after dipping to a six-week low on Wednesday. Australia's benchmark gained 0.6% and renewed an all-time high. Mainland Chinese blue chips gained 0.5%, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng was largely flat. U.S. stock futures pointed lower, with Nasdaq futures sagging 0.2% and S&P 500 futures easing 0.1%. Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.7% and the S&P 500 cash index slipped 0.2%. 'There remains a bearish skew for equities at the moment,' said Kyle Rodda, an analyst at 'Equity prices are beginning to reflect the risk of disappointment at Jackson Hole, with doubts circulating about whether the Fed will pivot as aggressively in the dovish direction implied by rates markets - or even pivot at all.' Traders currently lay odds of about 80% for a quarter-point Fed rate cut on September 17, and price in a total of 52 basis points of easing over the rest of the year. This time on Wednesday, the odds for a cut next month stood at 84%. Fed Chair Powell has said he is reluctant to cut rates because of expected tariff-driven price pressures this summer. Minutes out overnight from the Fed's July gathering, when policymakers voted to keep rates steady, suggested that Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller were alone in pushing for a rate cut at the meeting. Traders ramped up bets for a September cut following a surprisingly weak payrolls report at the start of this month, and were further encouraged after consumer price data showed limited upward pressure from tariffs. However, a hotter-than-expected producer price reading last week complicated the policy picture. Traders aren't looking at macroeconomic data as the only potential influencer of monetary policy direction, with President Donald Trump again exerting pressure on the central bank overnight. After continuing his attacks on Powell earlier in the week for refraining from cutting rates, Trump on Wednesday targeted Fed Governor Lisa Cook, demanding she resign amid allegations of wrongdoing connected to mortgages on properties she owns in Georgia and Michigan. Cook said she had 'no intention of being bullied to step down'. Trump's push for more control over the Fed unnerved investors earlier in the year, sending the dollar tumbling. The currency has largely taken the latest developments in stride though, and the dollar index was steady at 98.252 on Thursday, after grinding to the highest since August 12 at 98.441 a day earlier. 'The broader implication is rising tensions between the Fed and the U.S. administration,' said Rodrigo Catril, a strategist at National Australia Bank. 'Trump's push to confirm Stephen Miran could add another vote for cuts in September, and if he was to successfully remove Cook, the Fed Board could end up with four members out of seven supporting his lower rates call.' Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chair Miran as a Fed governor earlier this month, following the surprise resignation of Adriana Kugler. U.S. 10-year Treasury yields were steady at 4.2965% in the latest session. Japanese government bond yields edged higher though, with the 20-year yield advancing to 2.655% for the first time since late 1999. Among other things, investors are wary of increased fiscal spending amid growing pressure for the Japanese prime minister to step down. The dollar traded little changed at 147.41 yen . The euro and sterling were flat at $1.1647 and $1.3458, respectively. Bitcoin continued to claw its way back from a 2-1/2-week low reached Wednesday at $112,386.93, edging up to around $114,690. Gold eased slightly to around $3,342 per ounce. Oil prices edged higher as larger-than-expected declines in crude oil and fuel inventories in the U.S. supported expectations for steady demand. Brent crude futures were up 0.5% to $67.19 a barrel, after gaining 1.6% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 0.6% to $63.10, after climbing 1.4% on Wednesday.
