AsiaNet-Pakistan Premier Editorial Content and Press Release Distribution Service
Karachi, June 13, 2016 (PPI-OT):
Mr. Speaker,
Allah Almighty has once again bestowed upon me the honour to stand before the elected representatives of the people of Sindh and present the fourth Budget for our current term. I am grateful to my Lord for putting us on a persistent path to progress and development.
The principles set forth by our founding father Quaid-e-Azam, Muhammad Ali Jinnah always act as a benchmark for setting out our priorities and planning the business of the Government. Therefore, at the very outset I must set the tone with his words: “The Government can only have for its aim one objective – how to serve the people, how to devise ways and means for their welfare, for their betterment…”
Keeping in view the vision of Quaid-e-Azam, this objective of the welfare, betterment of and service to the people, has always been at the core of the Government of Sindh’s policies. Quaid-e Awam, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Quaid-e-Jamhooriat Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto were ardent followers of the teachings of Quaid-e-Azam. Their policy was also centered on the idea of the welfare and well-being of the common persons, and they strove relentlessly during their lives and embraced martyrdom to achieve these goals. Now, under the inimitable and dynamic leadership of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-Chairman President Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistan People’s Party and its Government continue to work single-mindedly for the uplift of the people. The Budget of 2016-17 has also been prepared in consonance with the collective vision of our leaders and I feel honored to present the people-friendly Budget of Fiscal Year 2016-17.
Mr. Speaker,
Pakistan People’s Party has made innumerable sacrifices primarily for the successful continuation of democracy and to ensure that the people of Pakistan not only have a say in setting out priorities of governance and development, but they shall be the actual drivers of change. For this purpose, this year’s Budget has also been set out in the spirit of reconciliation and participatory politics, aimed towards the establishment of a just, equitable, and egalitarian society. We believe in the politics of inclusion. We believe in the politics of participation. We believe in the politics of reconciliation. Thus, we will try to ensure that every step is taken jointly and every decision is made with participation and consensus of all parties involved. I am thankful to all our honorable MPAs, both from the treasury and opposition benches, for their support and look forward to their cooperation in future. I would like to acknowledge here the leadership of political parties both in the assembly and outside it, especially Mr. Altaf Hussain(MQM), Peer Sahab Pagara of PML(F), Mian Nawaz Sharif (PML-N), Mr. Imran Khan (Chairman PTI), Mr. Asfandiyar Wali, Moulana Siraj-ul-Haq and Moulana Fazl-ur-Rehman.
Mr. Speaker,
The whole democratic setup including this house stands for the service of the people of Sindh. Through the democratic process they have reposed their faith in us, and it is incumbent upon us to live up to their expectations. Our vision is across the board service of the people of Sindh without any discrimination or bias. Through this budget, we have put in maximum efforts to translate this dream into actionable plans.
Mr. Speaker,
As stated earlier, the focus of this budget is the overall betterment and welfare of the people, for which efficient and optimal utilization of the resources is mandatory, given that effective Public Financial Management has direct impact on service delivery. We aim to move towards a peaceful and prosperous Sindh by bringing about sustainable and inclusive socio-economic, infrastructural and human resource development.
NATIONAL FINANCE COMMISSION
Mr. Speaker,
Before I start with the details of the budget for next financial year, I would like to inform the august house of the status of the National Finance Commission.
It is the constitutional responsibility of the Federal Government to announce the NFC Award for a period of five years under Article 160 of the Constitution. The last NFC was to end on 30th June 2015. It may be recalled that the previous Government of Pakistan People’s Party had fulfilled this constitutional obligation in letter and spirit and announced the 7th NFC Award well before time of its commencement. However, the present PML-N government at the federal level has failed to fulfil its constitutional obligation.
The 9th National Finance Commission was constituted on 24th April 2015 and in its very first meeting held on 28th April 2015, Government of Sindh gave a timetable to finalize the recommendations by 31st May, 2015. The Federal Government however constituted four working groups to conduct studies on different topics to assist in the formulation of the new award.
Government of Sindh took the lead in completing its task and convened the very first meeting of the Working Groups of 9th NFC in Karachi. All other provinces have also completed their reports. However, the Federal Government has neither completed its report nor convened any subsequent meeting of NFC that has been due on its part.
The Government of Sindh is fully prepared on its part and has repeatedly been requesting the Federal Government to move ahead with the task of finalizing 9th NFC, but in vain. The apparent deliberate delay by the Federal Government is tantamount to the Federal Government shying away from its Constitutional obligation; therefore, using the floor of this house, I record my strong protest at the unwillingness of the Federal Government to undertake this important constitutional activity to the detriment of its citizens. I reiterate that the Federal Government must fulfil its constitutional obligation for announcement of the 9th NFC award for safeguarding constitutional rights of the federating units, without any further delay.
SALIENT FEATURES OF BUDGET 2016-17
Mr. Speaker,
Allow me to share some good news. The total budget of the province of Sindh for the fiscal year 2016-17 is proposed at Rs. 869.1 billion. The Annual Development Program of Government of Sindh for the coming financial year will be Rs. 225 billion; an increase of a massive 39% over the current year’s ADP. This is a great achievement by all standards. We will be able to mobilize additional resources through better revenue generation as well as through borrowing from the domestic market as per the ceiling given by the NEC. These additional revenues will be spent on our development portfolio, as we will ensure that the current budget of the province shall not increase by more than 13%. This is despite the fact that the salary and pension expenditure has to increase in order to provide relief to Government employees and also to create new jobs. Moreover, we have also ensured that allocation for such important functions, as maintenance and repair of the existing infrastructure, non-salary expenditure of schools, and budget for the medicines and other equipment of the hospitals shall increase substantially. I will give you details of this later in my speech.
Mr. Speaker,
Another key feature of the budget 16-17 is a significant increase in the allocations for some of the smaller departments, which perform important social welfare functions but generally get smaller share in resource allocation. These departments include Social Welfare, Special Education, Sports and Youth Affairs, Women Development and Minorities Affairs. The budget for Social Welfare department is being increased by 65.5%, with the additional amount to be spent on improvement of facilities like Dar-ul- Amans and Dar –ul- Atfals etc. The overall budget for Special Education Department has been increased by 35%, but the non-salary budget has surged by 433% and this additional amount will be spent on improving the 50 facilities meant for Special children across the province. The budget for the Sports and Youth Affairs department has been increased by 46% to provide better avenues of development for the youth of the province. The budget for the Women Development department has been increased by 149%, most of which will be spent to provide microfinance facilities to women entrepreneurs and also to provide legal aid services to needy women. The grant for Minorities is being increased from Rs.100 million to Rs. 300 million – an increase of a massive 200%, which will be spent on different welfare schemes for the minorities.
Mr. Speaker,
Our tax administration is performing well. We will Insha Allah achieve the current year’s target of Rs.124 billion. Sindh Revenue Board has done exceptionally well in achieving the challenging target of Rs.61 billion; this has been possible due to commendable efforts of its staff but most of the credit will go to the outstanding leadership provided by its chairman Mr. Tashfeen Niaz. He was an excellent officer and a thorough gentleman who had an exceptionally strong passion and commitment for his job. To have suddenly lost him has been a blow to us all. May Allah give him highest place in Jannah. Sindh has lost a true son of the soil. The Excise and Taxation department also succeeded in achieving the target assigned to it. Considering this excellent performance, we have set more challenging targets for these two entities in next financial year. Our overall tax collection is estimated at Rs.154 billion for FY 2016-17, which is 24% higher than the current year’s target. I would like to mention here that there are no new taxes which will affect the common man. In fact we are reducing the rate of sales tax on service from the current 14% to 13%. We have rationalized certain taxes, details of which I will mention later in my speech. The SRB is being assigned a task to collect Rs.78 billion which will be 28% higher than the current years’ collection. An ambitious but achievable goal. The Excise and Taxation Department also gets a challenging target of Rs.52 billion, 24% higher than the current year’s target of Rs.42 billion. The Board of Revenue has been assigned a target of Rs.16.8 billion with the confidence that it will achieve it by introducing reforms and automation in its collection mechanism. Our efforts in tax collection have been a source of satisfaction for us as we have seen a growth of 18% during last three years, higher than the growth in tax collection achieved by any other government in Pakistan. The additional revenues we have generated are now available to finance a very healthy ADP of Rs.225 billion that we have budgeted for the next fiscal year. It is the result of our better fiscal management during last three years that we can aim for such a high growth in our development portfolio.
Mr. Speaker,
We have managed to keep a check on unproductive government expenditure. Austerity measures were introduced into our financial management. A whole set of PFM reforms aiming at more transparency and accountability were introduced. There has been a ban on procurement of new vehicles except for the operational vehicles for Police and hospitals etc. Procurement of other luxury items like air conditioners etc. has also been kept under control. These measures have saved us the resources to spend on the development portfolio. These savings have also helped us in diverting more resources to such productive use as maintenance of roads and buildings. This year Rs. 4 billion were provided for repairs of the roads through which some major roads have been rehabilitated in all the districts. Similarly, Rs. 401 million were spent on the repair and maintenance of major teaching hospitals and Rs. 9.58 billion on other government buildings. Thus, we are not only focusing on creating new infrastructure but also keeping sizeable allocations for maintenance of existing infrastructure. This policy introduced last year has already started showing results on ground and will produce more visible improvement in the coming year. We are not relying solely on the engineers of the Works and Services Department but have also involved elected representatives through district administration for need assessment and monitoring of this expenditure. Similar improvements can also be seen in Irrigation infrastructure throughout the province, which was in shambles after the super floods of 2010.
Mr. Speaker,
We have been following a policy of spending major portion of our budget on four priority sectors i.e. Education, Health, Law and Order and Local bodies. We will continue with the same policy in coming financial year, as we believe expenditure on these sectors is key to improving the quality of the life of citizens. In addition to keeping better financial allocations for these sectors we are simultaneously working on improving their management in order to bring in efficiency into their working and get better value for the resources that we are spending on these sectors. These reforms include creation of a separate management cadre and a monitoring arm in the Education Department, bringing in private sector management into government’s education, and health facilities under the legal framework of Public Private Partnership, induction of ex-army men into Police force, procuring best fighting equipment for the Police force etc. With such reforms gradually taking hold, the performance of these departments is expected to improve substantially during the coming year.
Revised Estimates 2015-16
Mr. Speaker,
The revised estimates for total receipts of province for Current Financial Year 2015-16 are Rs. 696.7 billion, as against budget estimate of Rs. 726.6 billion, showing a decrease of 4.1%. Receipts from Federal Government on account of revenue assignment, straight transfers and grants stood at Rs. 494.3 billion, which are almost same as the budget estimates of Rs. 494.1 billion. It constituted 71.1% of total receipts of the province. Receipts of Federal PSDP are revised to Rs. 9.9 billion; whereas Foreign Project Assistance is revised to Rs. 15.6 billion. Receipts from provincial own sources on account of tax and non-tax receipts are revised to Rs. 133.6 billion, which constituted 19.2% of total receipts. This is a decrease of 7.9% over budget estimates of Rs.144.1 billion in CFY. While our tax receipts have been revised up to Rs.64.2 billion from the BE of Rs. 63.6 billion, the downward revision is mainly on account of non-tax receipts which have been revised down to Rs. 8.3 billion from the BE of Rs. 19.5 billion
Mr. Speaker,
It is noteworthy to inform this august house that there is no outside supplementary budget on current side during this financial year. All the expenditure has been made from within the grants and from savings in other grants through technical supplementary. It has also transpired for the first time that the revised expenditure has been less than the budgeted expenditure.
The total expenditure for CFY 2015-16 is revised at Rs. 705.5 billion, as against budget estimates of Rs. 739.3 billion, showing a decrease of 4.8%. The current expenditure of the province is revised at Rs. 522.8 billion, which includes current revenue expenditure of Rs. 502.8 billion and current capital expenditure of Rs. 20.1 billion. This is a downward revision against the budget estimates of Rs. 525.6 billion for CFY 2015-16. I invite the attention of the respectable members of this house to the fact that this is for the first time that the current expenditure has been revised down. This is the result of the measures we have undertaken in the area of Public Financial Management and shows our good control over the expenditure. The development expenditure of the province is revised at Rs. 182.5 billion, which includes provincial ADP of Rs. 142 billion, FPA of Rs. 17.1 billion federal PSDP of Rs. 16.5 billion and Viability Gap Fund of Rs. 7 billion. It shows a decrease of 14.5% as compared to budget estimates of Rs. 213.6 billion for FY 2015-16.
Budget Estimates 2016-17
The total receipts of province for Financial Year 2016-17 are estimated at Rs. 854.5 billion, as against budget estimate of Rs. 726.6 billion for CFY, showing overall increase of 17.6%. Receipts from Federal Government on account of revenue assignment, straight transfers and grants are estimated at Rs. 561.1 billion, which constitute 65.7% of total receipts of the province. It is an increase of 13.6%, over estimates of Rs. 494.1 billion last year. However, the budget estimates of straight transfers for next FY have decreased by 11% to Rs. 54.7 billion from the budget estimates of Rs. 61.5 billion of CFY. Receipts of Federal PSDP are estimated at Rs. 12.2 billion. Receipts on account of Foreign Project Assistance (FPA) are estimated at Rs. 28.8 billion. Receipts from provincial own sources on account of tax and non-tax receipts are estimated at Rs. 166 billion, which constitute 19.4% of total receipts. This is an increase of 15.2% over estimates of Rs. 144 billion of CFY.
The total budget outlay for Financial Year 2016-17 is estimated at Rs. 869.1 billion, as against budget estimate of Rs. 739.3 billion for CFY, showing overall increase of 17.5%. The current expenditure of the province is projected at Rs. 603 billion, which includes current revenue expenditure of Rs.572.7 billion and current capital expenditure of Rs.30.3 billion. This is 69.4% of total expenditure of the province and shows an increase of 14.7% over estimates of Rs.525.6 billion for last year. The development expenditure of the province is estimated at Rs.266 billion, constitutes 30.6% of total expenditure of the province and includes provincial ADP of Rs.225 billion, FPA of Rs.28.8billion, and federal PSDP of Rs.12.2 billion.
Mr. Speaker,
I must draw your attention to the fact that creating job opportunities and providing employment to the deserving has always been the hallmark of the government of Pakistan People’s Party and we are proud of this. This year also, we will be providing jobs to 50,000 people out of which the major chunk of 20,000 jobs will be in Police Department; approximately 10,000 jobs will be in Education sector; 3,500 jobs will be in health sector and rest will be in various other sectors.
EDUCATION
Mr. Speaker,
Education is the key to development. This is why when it comes to allocation of resources, education takes precedence over all other sectors. Hence, largest chunk of our current budget i.e. 28% is allocated for Education sector for FY 2016-17. The next year’s allocation of Rs. 160.7 billion for education includes allocations for higher education, technical education and medical education besides allocation for the primary and secondary education. This is an increase of 11.2% over allocations of Rs. 144.5 billion of CFY. The Salary component of education department has increased by 7.4% only, whereas the non-salary component has been increased by 23.8%. The key allocations in the non-salary budget of education are:-
School Specific Budget: Rs. 4.68 Billion.
Repair and maintenance of Schools and Colleges: Rs. 5.4 billion
Education Management Organizations (PPP): Rs. 1 billion
School Management Committees: Rs. 1.5billion
School Consolidation Grants: Rs. 1.8 billion
Free Textbooks: Rs. 2 billion
Stipends for girl students: Rs. 1.5 billion
Energization of Schools: Rs. 27.3 million
Introducing innovative initiatives in Education Department: Rs. 500 million
In the Current Financial Year, the ADP allocation for Education Sector was Rs. 13.2 billion. For the next financial year it has been increased to Rs. 17.2 billion, including Rs. 3 billion kept separately for Boards and Universities, 1 billion for STEVTA and Rs. 200 million for Special education. Besides provincial ADP, Rs. 2.8 billion have been allocated for foreign funded projects of education department, which includes Sindh Basic Education Program (Rs. 2 billion; USAID) and upgrading Primary Schools into Elementary Schools in Rural Sindh (Rs. 137 million; JICA). Following major schemes will be carried out in the next financial year:-
7 new degree colleges will be established.
25 comprehensive and 25 English Medium schools will be constructed in all districts of Sindh
58 Girls Primary Schools will be upgraded to Elementary Schools in rural areas of 12 districts with the assistance of JICA.
Phase-II of ICT Enabled EMIS in Education and Literacy Department will be started wherein 260 ICT Academies will be established and Distance Learning Programme will be introduced.
106 state-of-the-art safe schools are being built under the Sindh Basic Education Program funded by USAID (USAID: Rs.13.485 billion, GoS: Rs. 870 million). The program is also implementing soft components focused on community mobilization, capacity building, ICTs, and public private partnerships.
This clearly illustrates the commitment of the Government to improve quality, access, equity and governance in education which will help in accelerating the implementation of the Sindh Compulsory and Free Education Act 2014. Sindh remains committed to a sector wide lifelong learning approach from early childhood up to secondary schooling, second chance or alternative learning pathways for out of school children and youth, technical vocational training, special education and tertiary education (colleges/universities).
Mr. Speaker,
The strategy that we have adopted is three-pronged. Our first priority is the improvement of the public sector schools through improvements in our management and monitoring systems. Secondly, we are outsourcing public sector schools to reputable private organizations (EMOs) under PPP mode through a fair and competitive process. Finally, as public sector schools are not sufficient in number to cover the whole population, we are also supporting the private sector schools through Sindh Education Foundation, especially in remote areas.
Following are some of the major steps being undertaken to reform the Education sector:-
Early Childhood Care and Education Policy 2015 is being implemented which has created a new teaching cadre for early childhood teaching.
Biometric mapping of over 185,000 employees (Both teaching and non-teaching) has been completed, which is 95% of the total strength of the department. The biometric verification will be integrated with Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) and will be used to align salary payments, attendance in schools and resource rationalization.
Education Department has introduced a complaint mechanism called ILMI for stakeholders. The complainant can register complaint by sending SMS on 8398.
Endowment fund of Rs. 825 million has been provided in the last 7 years to 8038 students of more than 35 Higher Education Institutions and Universities.
Management Cadre has been separated from teaching cadre with new recruitment rules and competitive, performance-based and mandatory training-linked appointments and promotions for both. 2000 Head teachers provided to 2000 Schools up-to elementary level; we plan to appoint 6700 more new HMs in the next two years under Education Management Cadre (EMC). Three specialized sub Cadres established: School Executive Service (SES); School Management Service (SMS) and School Finance Service (SFS).
Three rounds of merit based teacher recruitment have been completed to recruit more than 30,000 teachers by conducting tests from recognized institutions like Sindh University, Sukkur IBA and NTS. New teaching cadres have also been introduced to focus on early childhood teaching. Among the new teachers, 552 High School Teachers, 4,969 Junior School Teachers, and 10,000 Primary School Teachers have been given pre-service training.
Student Achievement Tests were conducted for 300,000 students.
Monitoring and Evaluation Directorate has been established with 225 Monitors hired for fifteen pilot districts; effective e-monitoring of schools has begun capturing real time data on daily basis; this has been supported by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
To promote entrepreneurship in education sector and to encourage private sector, grant of Rs. 3.3 billion was given during year 2015-16 to Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) for Promotion of Private School in Rural Sindh (PPRS), Early Learning Program (ELP), Integrated Education Learning Program (IELP) and setting up of Rural Based Community Schools (RBCS) program through Public Private Partnership, especially in under privileged areas. The PPRS program is based on per student subsidy provided to entrepreneurs for opening a school in identified under-served areas. I am glad to share that the program is achieving its targets and 450 schools are now operational. RBCS Program was also implemented with the help of 10 renowned NGOs in 10 districts with accelerated syllabus used to help children attain primary level competency in three years. The project is now based on per-child / per-month subsidy model. Currently, 15,000 children are getting free quality education in 150 RBC Schools. Based on this performance, the allocation for next year for Sindh Education Foundation has been increased by 130% to Rs. 7.6 billion
HEALTH
Mr. Speaker,
Health has remained a priority sector for our Government as we continue to expand our resource allocation for this sector. The current revenue expenditure of Health including medical education has been significantly increased by 13.8% from Rs. 57.9 billion in CFY to Rs. 65.9 billion in next FY.
The next year ADP of Health is pitched at Rs. 14 billion, against ADP of Rs. 13 billion of CFY. Besides provincial ADP and Federal PSDP, Rs. 1.8 billion have been allocated for foreign funded projects of Health Department, which are Nutrition Support Program of Sindh (Rs.1.4 billion; IDA) and Establishment of Child Health Care Institute at Sukkur (Rs. 400 million; Korea).
Government is making consistent efforts to develop holistic approach to bridge gaps in health services delivery at all levels i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary levels, with a balanced strategy focused on both preventive and curative medicine. In order to allow tertiary care hospitals to focus on specialized health care services, it is mandatory to strengthen secondary and primary health care service delivery system. To achieve this objective, Government has enhanced resource allocations for operational expenses, including medicine, diagnostic and hospital supplies to DHQ, THQs, RHCs, BHUs and Dispensaries. Allocations for these health facilities has been made on the basis of costing tools developed by Health Department with assistance of USAID, using District Health Information System and catchment population of the health facilities. The allocations for medicine has been increased on need basis, and that of diagnostic, surgical instruments, oxygen gas, consumables, x-ray films, and dietary charges of patients have been increased by 35%. The allocations for repair of teaching hospitals have been doubled. Similarly, significant increase of 20% has been made for repair and maintenance of machinery, equipment and ambulances. With the similar objective, allocations for PPHI Sindh has been enhanced by Rs.605 million, up from Rs.3.2 billion to Rs.3.8 billion.
Mr. Speaker,
This is a paradigm shift that will enhance allocative efficiency and significantly reduce rural-urban disparity.
In furtherance of aforementioned objective, following important initiatives have been completed or are near completion:
Many units in the scheme for construction of THQ/ DHQ hospitals will complete this year.
In District Jacobabad, with the support of USAID, a newly constructed 200 bedded hospital Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences (JIMS) made operational. The new hospital is a state-of-the-art addition to the district.
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Accident Emergency and Ancillary Services Complex at Civil Hospital Karachi, a multi-disciplinary complex of its kind in the province built at the cost of Rs. 6.2 billion, has been made operational and Rs.1.67 billion has been kept in the budget for its operational expenses. Institutional best practices are being followed and market based salaries are being offered to attract the best health practitioners.
Establishment of Paediatric Institute of Heart Diseases at Karachi
Provision of 200 Dialysis Facilities across Sindh with June, 2017 as target date for completion
Provision of On Site Oxygen Generation/Medical Gases Plants in Sindh with June, 2017 as target date for completion
Establishment of Medical Colleges at Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas
Renovation and Rehabilitation of Chandka Medical College and Construction of New Noori Girls Hostel at Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University Larkana
Mr. Speaker,
The Government assigns equal importance to tertiary health care. In this regard, regular/ annual recurring grant-in-aid for SIUT has been increased from Rs. 3 billion to Rs. 4 billion. In CFY, besides regular grant of Rs.3 billion, an additional amount of Rs. 3320 million was provided to SIUT, which included an amount of Rs.2.3 billion for Transplantation Complex Sukkur, Rs. 250 million for installation of robotic surgery and Rs. 100 million for procurement of 100 dialysis machines and Rs. 670 million for Establishment of Liver Transplant Unit (SIUT) at Karachi.
“… And Whoso gave life to one soul, then it is as if he had given life to all Mankind …” (Surah Al-Maida, Ayat no. 32)
NICVD will receive Rs.1.8 billion, that is Rs.700 million more next year. Work on establishment of a Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Unit at NICVD, Karachi will also start. Grant for Indus Hospital has been enhanced to Rs.500 million, up from Rs.300 million.
Following measures have been taken for preventive healthcare:
Lady Health Workers and the associated Program Management Unit is regularized. Activities are underway to strengthen the operational, monitoring and evaluation capacity.
The Community Midwives (CMWs) are being continuously trained and deployed in targeted areas. Deployment increased from 1924 to 2,300 in CFY.
Coverage under Polio campaign was improved to 97% and reported polio cases were reduced from 30 in 2014 to 12 during the year 2015. Motorcycles and additional POL have been given to strengthen and mobilize the EPI vaccinators. New Polio vaccine (IPV) and Pneumococcal Vaccine -10 (PCV-10) have also been introduced.
The Health Department has undertaken major initiatives to control health issues related to nutrition deficiency. Nutrition Support Program in Sindh (09 Districts) has been started.
Use of technology is being promoted. DHIS has been activated and Key performance Indicators of all vertical programs are displayed on DASH board. Vaccine Logistic Management Information System (VLMIS) has also been launched with technical assistance of USAID’s MCH Program. Electronically monitored Security System has been installed in JPMC and NICH and Online MIS has been introduced with establishment of Monitoring and Evaluation Cell at DG Health Services Office.
Some major schemes which will be undertaken in the Health sector during next financial year are:
Up-gradation of Neuro surgery at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad
Establishment of Children Hospital at Sukkur under Korean Soft Loan
Renovation and Up-gradation of main gynea operation theatre and other operation theatres at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad and Jamshoro
Construction of Talib-ul-moula Medical College and teaching hospital Hala
Upgradation of various BHUs to RHCs, RHCs to THQs and THQs to DHQs
Construction of Emergency Centre at Pacca Chang, District Khairpur
Construction of Paramedical Institute at Mithi, District Tharparkar
Strengthening of Malaria Control Program in Sindh
Sindh Immunization support program (SISP)
Sindh Malaria Eradication Strategy 2015-20
Strengthening of monitoring system
Prevention and Control of Hepatitis in Sindh.
LAW and ORDER
Mr. Speaker,
The Quaid-e-Azam, ever cognizant of the importance of maintenance of law and order said “You will no doubt agree with me that the first duty of a government is to maintain law and order, so that the life, property, and religious beliefs of its subjects are fully protected by the State…” Accordingly, Sindh Government has kept it as one of its topmost priorities.
Mr. Speaker,
Home Department (including police, jails, rangers and other security agencies) is the second largest department in terms of resource allocation with a share of 14.4% in total current revenue expenditure in FY 2016-17. This is a clear proof of our commitment to give citizens of this province a peaceful and tranquil environment where they can pursue their goals of better living. Home Department has been allocated Rs. 82.3 billion in next FY 2016-17 as against CFY budget estimates of Rs. 70.8 billion; which is an increase of 16.2%. The Budget for Sindh Police has been enhanced from Rs. 63.3 billion to Rs. 74 billion, showing an increase of 16.9%. This includes SNE allocation of Rs. 8.9 billion for Police. The ADP for Home Department is pitched at Rs. 2 billion. The three key pillars of our strategy to improve the performance of the Police are (i) the welfare of the police personnel; (ii) making current operations more efficient; and (iii) the capacity building of the force.
Our Law Enforcement Personnel sacrifice their lives for the safety and security of the citizens. Hence, the need was felt to actively work for their welfare. For this the following steps have been planned:-
The compensation for Police personnel who embrace shahadat has been enhanced from Rs. 2 million to Rs. 5 million. Development of land that will be allotted to heirs of the Shaheed will be ensured. Further, recruitment of one child of the Shaheed into Government job will be made in accordance with the qualification.
Sindh Police Welfare and Maintenance Board will be formed and civilians will also be made part of it to ensure transparency.
Following steps have been taken to improve the Police operations:-
20000 more personnel will be recruited. Out of that 10000 posts that were released during CFY 2015-16 included 2000 ex-servicemen for CPEC security, 6000 for traffic police Karachi and 2000 personnel for RRF Centre. In next financial year, 10000 new posts are created. Out of these, 4000 posts will be for Karachi range, 1000 posts for Hyderabad, 750 posts for Larkana, 600 posts for Mirpurkhas, 550 posts for SBA, 600 posts for Sukkur and 2500 posts will be for IT Cadre. Recruitment policy has been framed to ensure merit and transparency. A supervisory board will be formed to ensure merit based recruitments.
The number of ATC courts has also been increased to bolster counter terrorism efforts.
Biometric attendance has been introduced at Police Training Schools and their curriculum has also been revised to include specialized subjects.
Major procurement of Machinery and Equipment has been done including Arms and Ammunition, APCs and Operational vehicles to further improve the performance of police. Rs. 5.2 billion have also been allocated in SNE for procurement of physical assets (Rs. 2.5 billion for purchase of transport; Rs. 0.65 billion for purchase of machinery; and Rs. 2 billion for purchase of other assets including arms and ammunition)
200 prosecuting inspectors and 200 inspectors will be recruited to improve prosecution.
GSM Locators are a very important tool for conducting investigations and Rs. 200 million have been allocated for their purchase and repair.
Foreigner’s Registration Branch has been revamped on modern lines.
We are also proactively involved in further development of the Police force
In order to improve the intelligence gathering mechanism, a Data Centre and Intelligence School is going to be created in Special Branch for which provision of Rs 281 million has been reserved for the financial year 2016.
A Forensic Science Laboratory which is the basic requirement of investigation and an Explosive Laboratory will be developed at a cost of Rs. 2.5 billion.
A unified Command and Control Surveillance system will be put in place with the help of cameras installed by the KMC and police department
The Police Response Centre (Madadgar 15) will be revamped
Automation of criminal record is under process which will be followed by that of human resource. It will then be integrated with record of prisons.
Driving License Branch will be revamped
The financial assistance to the widows of police personnel will be disbursed through ATM cards like BISP.
Bomb Disposal Squad will be expanded.
ENERGY
Mr. Speaker,
For sustainable economic growth, it is necessary that the country is able to meet, rather exceed its energy requirements. In order to make Pakistan a self-sufficient country in terms of its energy needs, Sindh is playing its due role by attracting new investments through a variety of fiscal and monetary incentives. We have framed the Sindh Power Policy aimed at attract private sector investment. Only strategic projects will be developed in the public sector in case of no interest and initiative from the private sector. To further this objective, lucrative and investor friendly Renewable Energy Policy, dedicated Land grant Policy 2015 and one window facility for investors has been put in place.
Rs. 25 billion have been allocated for clearance of outstanding liabilities of electricity dues of various government departments pertaining to DISCOs such as KE, HESCO and SEPCO. These funds are parked in Energy Department for reconciliation and payment. It shows commitment of Government of Sindh to pay the outstanding liabilities. The ADP for energy department is pitched at Rs. 6.35 billion for FY 2016-17. With these funds, the Energy Department has taken various initiatives to increase the energy output through renewable and non-renewable energy sources.
One of the greatest news of the current financial year is achievement of financial close for Sindh Engro Coal Mining Companies’ joint venture project at Thar Block-II. GoS holds 54% share in this company and has committed Rs. 11 billion as its equity share. Further, the Government of Sindh gave primary obligation to the Federal Government for Sovereign Guarantee of US$ 700 million for the Thar Block-II Mining Project and has committed Rs. 70 billion to build required infrastructure. Initially it will be a 3.8 million ton per annum coal mine which will generate 660 MW power through a mine mouth power plant being installed by Engro Corp. The project will start power generation in 2018. The capacity of mine will further scaled up to 7.4 million ton per annum with power generation of 1320 MW. This is a landmark achievement and will pave the way for energy security of this country. The project is part of CPEC. Physical work has started and about 3 million BCM overburden has been removed. This progress is a result of a firm belief and persistent hard work of our Government under the able leadership of Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah sb. We believed in Thar when many were saying that it is an exercise in futility. We remained steadfast and success has finally come. It has come against all odds.
To promote Renewable Energy (RE) projects, Government of Sindh has framed dedicated Land Grant Policy 2015 for the purpose of developing RE projects in the province. 53,000 acres land has already been leased out to renewable energy Projects, whereas 40,000 acres land has been reserved for Renewable Energy Parks in the province. Renewable Energy Enclave (REEs) have also been envisaged for allocation of government land with infrastructure for development of RE clusters at strategic locations in the province. Government of Sindh also aims to achieve increased economic activity by promoting distributed generation of electricity to catalyze economic activity in far flung areas of the province.
The Government of Sindh has so far completed 6 wind Power projects with a cumulative capacity of 309.2 MW. 9 wind power projects are under construction, with a total installed capacity of 475.9MW. 46 more wind projects with capacity of 3550MW are at various stages of project development. Total investment of wind power projects is approx. $5370 million. The National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) has confirmed the power evacuation of 1756 MW from this wind corridor. The wind tower manufacturing facilities by the Chinese Three Gorges Company is already operational in the Site area.
The Government of Sindh has also planned 24 solar power projects which will add 1450 MW in national grid. Total investment of solar power projects is $2900 million approx.
The Government of Sindh has issued Letter of Interest to a private firm for construction of 9 MW and 15 MW power generation facilities at Rohri Canal and Nara Canal downstream. Power generation from these two projects is expected by 2017.
Two special purpose companies namely M/s Sindh Nooriabad Power Company (Pvt.) Limited Phase-I and M/s Sindh Nooriabad Power Company (Pvt.) Limited Phase-II have been established in PPP mode, with a lead partner M/s Technomen Kinetics Pvt., Limited for installation of 2×50 MW gas power generation facility. It is in very advance stage and commissioning is expected by end of July.
The Government of Sindh initiated a project for generation of 20 MW based on Municipal Solid waste and Agro waste as per international practice, in Khairpur District. The bidding process is near finalization. The project is to been executed in PPP mode.
About 750 villages have been solar electrified at a cost of Rs. 1.2 billion by Directorate of village electrification during the last financial year and an amount of Rs. 1.2 billion is allocated for the current financial year.
Government of Sindh is executing supply of gas to villages through Sui Southern Gas Company Limited (SSGCL). A loan of Rs. 6.5 billion has been disbursed to SSGCL for carrying out gas supply to villages. SSGCL has completed supply of gas to 746 villages while work for supply of gas to 209 villages is in progress.
The Government of Sindh has also established “Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company (STDC)”. Currently, the STDC is constructing a power dispatch line of 90 km from SNGPL up to KDA Scheme 33 Grid Station Karachi. K-Electric has sent Letter of Interest for getting 100 MW power through the suggested transmission line. National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) granted its Special Purpose Transmission License (SPTL) to STDC on December 17, 2015 for the transmission line project.
ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE
Mr. Speaker,
Development of road infrastructure remains one of the top most priorities of Government of Sindh to improve the socio-economic condition of the people and facilitate poverty alleviation. The Government is also injecting more money to improve existing infrastructure. The budgetary allocation for maintenance and repair of roads was Rs. 3.7 billion, which was enhanced to Rs. 4.5 billion in CFY. This has brought significant improvement of roads as it included improvement of over 2300 kilometres, besides construction of over 2600 kilometres of new roads. Looking at this trend the allocation for the next fiscal year has been enhanced to Rs. 5 billion.
The proposed allocation in the ADP under road sector, for the coming financial year 2016-17 is Rs. 22.4 billion against Rs. 15.4 billion in 2015-16, which is a significant increase of 45 percent. Various projects are being executed with the assistance of foreign donor agencies. A total of 528.5 kms of rural access roads have been constructed with the assistance of Japanese Government at a total cost of Rs. 8.87 billion. These roads are spread in entire province consisting the district of Thatta, Dadu, Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Larkana, Kamber-Shahdadkot, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore@Kandhkot and Sukkur. With the assistance of Chinese Government, Works and Services Department has initiated the rehabilitation/reconstruction of Nawabshah-Sanghar road having length of 61 kms which will be completed in a period of 02 (two) years at a cost of Rs. 2.09 billions.
Works and Services Department has also secured a loan of US $197.8 million from the Asian Development Bank for repair of six inter-city roads of Sindh having length of 328 Kms, conforming to International Standards.
Saifal to Jacobabad 44 Kms
SM Thahim to Ratodero 36 Kms
Khyber to Sanghar via Tando Adam 64 Kms
Sanghar to Mirpurkhas via Sindhri 63 Kms
Tando Muhammad Khan to Badin 67 Kms
Digri to Naukot 55 Kms
With a view to infusing private sector’s efficiencies, the Works and Services Department has taken a number of initiatives under the Government’s policy of public-private partnership. Hyderabad Mirpurkhas Dual Carriageway built through a partnership agreement with a Korean firm, M/s Deokjae Connecting Roads (Pvt.) Ltd. is a great success story which has paved the way for further such projects. Igniting the interest of the private partners in infrastructure development of the province, it has opened even more vistas of such cooperative endeavours. Jhirk Mullah Katiar Bridge project involves construction of 1.7 Kms bridge and 17.2 Kms 2 lane approaches connecting National Highway (N-5) with Mirpur Bathoro-Tando Muhammad Khan road. The is an ongoing project and would cost Rs. 4.537 Billion and will be operational during the financial year 2016-17.The upcoming project of 49 Kms length Karachi-Thatta Dual Carriageway with an estimated cost of Rs. 9.9 Billion, is one such avenue which is at takeoff stage and the concession agreement signing ceremony was held on 7th May, 2015 by Works and Services Department and Frontier Works Organization (FWO). Ground breaking of the project has already been held in first week of June 2016. Hyderabad-Tando Muhammad Khan Road (51.2 Km) is yet another project envisioned under Public-Private Partnership at an estimated cost of Rs. 5 billion. The spadework for the project is complete and investor solicitation will commence very soon. Another ambitious project of connecting Ghotki with Kandhkot through a bridge on River Indus estimated at a cost of Rs. 10 billion rupees is also going to be undertaken as a Public Private Partnership venture. A detailed feasibility study for the bridge is being initiated. This landmark project will immensely benefit the commuters and cargo movement between the provinces of Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab.
IRRIGATION
Mr. Speaker,
Irrigation is a sector of vital importance as 70% of Sindh’s population is dependent upon water for cultivation and its related activities. The importance of water has increased more in the backdrop of climate change. Efforts are therefore underway to improve irrigation supplies and harness / conserve maximum quantity of water.
Budget Estimates for Current Revenue Expenditure of Irrigation Department are estimated at 18.7 billion as against CFY allocation of Rs.17.7 billion. The ADP for NFY has been increased from current Rs. 12 billion to Rs. 14 billion, showing an upward trend of 16.7%. Out of this, Rs. 2.5 billion will be incurred on Drainage Reclamation and Tube wells sub-sector, Rs. 581 million on small dams sub-sector and Rs. 10.9 billion will be spent on open canals sub-sector. Additionally, FPA of Rs. 7.2 billion will also be spent on the open canals sub-sector.
The development plans are focused on Rehabilitation of Barrages; Rehabilitation, Protection and Capacity Enhancement of Irrigation and Drainage Networks; and Conservation of Water through Lining of Channels and building Small Dams. Some of the important schemes are:
Lining of Canals for reducing the water losses and control water logging and salinity.
Sindh Flood Emergency Reconstruction Project for Bunds and Canals at a total cost of Rs. 7.63 billion with target date of completion of June, 2016
Assuring Water Supply for Karachi up-grading Kinjhar Lake System (Under Urban Water Supply) at a total cost of Rs. 3.422 billion, with target date of completion of June 2017.
Re-alignment / Construction of Bund from north side of Malir River, Karachi at a cost of Rs. 2.53 billion.
Boring and Installation of 250 Tube wells of 2 Cusecs on Solar Energy at a total cost of Rs. 2.08 billion in Larkana, Shikarpur, Qambar and Sukkur districts.
Sindh Water Sector Improvement Project Phase-I (WSIP-I) at a total cost of Rs. 2.4 billion with target date of completion of December, 2017.
Restoration/Rehabilitation of LBOD and Kotri Drainage Network System including activation of Dhoras – Phase-II at a total cost of Rs. 3.46 billion
Lining of Rohri Main Canal at a total cost of Rs. 6.34 billion
Providing Water from Thar Wah of UmerKot to Keetari Taluka Chachro via Dhalojo Tar, Kaplore, Viklore Tar, Budha Sandha, Vichlo Par, Ratan Jo Tar and Construction of under Ground Reservoirs, at a cost of Rs. 1 billion.
Rehabilitation and Lining of Jamrao Canal (i) Rehabilitation of Jamrao Canal Old from Mile 0 To 49 Mile, (ii) Rehabilitation Of Twin Jamrao Canal Old From Mile 0 To 59 Mile And (iii) C.C.LiningJamrao Canal West From Mile 0 To 300 Tail at a total cost of Rs. 9.39 billion.
Sindh Barrages Improvement Project (Phase – I) – Rehabilitation and Modernization of Guddu Barrage (Rs. 1.97 billion – GoS share and Rs. 1.83 billion – IDA share)
The Irrigation Department is also executing massive development Program funded by Federal Government especially on 4 mega Projects.
The main objectives of the Revamping / Rehabilitation of Irrigation and Drainage System in Sindh project is to improve the operational efficiency of Irrigation water ensuring the safety of the Canal system and delivering equitable share of water. The physical progress achieved to date includes Canal Banks Strengthening of 4750 Miles; Re-sectioning of 2900 Miles of Canals; Stone Pitching along 460 Miles of Canal Banks; Construction of 6400 Modules and Construction of 75 Bridges.
Extension of Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD) from Sehwan to Sea is also an important project funded from Federal PSDP, which will provide the facility to carry out the drainage effluent of Sindh and Balochistan Province from Karampur to Sea at Gharo Creek. After completion of this project, pollution of Manchhar Lake will be eliminated thus fertility of right bank of River Indus will be restored.
The project Lining of Distributaries and Minors was taken up to conserve the precious water. The project has been approved at a cost of Rs.13.828 billion by the Federal Government for 109 Irrigation Channels up to carrying capacity of 200 cusecs. The channels are to be lined mainly in the perennial canal commanded areas of the Guddu, Sukkur and Kotri Barrages Small Storage Dams are being constructed in Sindh to harvest rain water for drinking purpose and cultivation of more than 300,000 Acres of land. Small Dams Organization has also been established in the department to achieve these objectives.
AGRICULTURE
Mr. Speaker,
Agriculture is the mainstay of our economy with over 60% of our population deriving their sustenance from it. It contributes 24% of GDP. Government of Sindh fully appreciates the importance of agriculture and is cognizant of its duties towards this sector. Current Revenue Expenditure of Agriculture Department has been increased by 24% to Rs. 6.7 billion in next financial year as against Rs. 5.4 billion in CFY. The ADP for the next financial year is pitched at Rs. 5.8 billion, which is an increase of 28.9% over ADP of Rs. 4.5 billion of CFY. Rs. 5.2 billion have been allocated for foreign funded projects, which includes Rs. 2 billion for Sindh Agriculture Growth Project and Rs. 3 billion for Sindh Irrigated Agriculture Productivity Enhancement Project.
1500 Agricultural implements will be provided to growers on 50% subsidized rates up to June, 2016 for promotion of mechanized farming. 18,000 hectares of land has been developed / levelled through bulldozers up to March 2016 and 433 tube wells will be installed on 50% subsidized rates on farmers’ field to explore underground water. Assistance on purchase of 5,000 Tractors will be provided; 73 Nos. Solar Tube Wells will be installed on cost sharing basis. Training will also be provided to 9000 farmers under farmers field school approach. Also, under agricultural research two new varieties have been approved for cultivation in Sindh. (i) Wheat variety named “Sindhu”; and (ii) cotton variety named “RJM (TH120)”.
Through World Bank Assisted Sindh Irrigated Productivity Enhancement Project (SIAPEP), 350 laser land leveling equipment will be provided on cost sharing basis to farmers; 200 water courses have been improved during CFY; installation subsidy will be provided on 715 Nos. Tube wells; 1000 watercourses will be improved; Installation of Drip Irrigation will be carried out on 5,000 acres (40% by farmer, 60% by GoS); 300 Laser Land Leveling equipment will be provided on cost sharing basis (45% by Farmers 55% by GoS); 100 Deep Ripping (Chisel Plough) will be provided on cost sharing basis; 71 Community Flood Shelters will be established in different districts of Sindh and 200 Farmers Field Schools will be established.
Under the World Bank assisted Sindh Agricultural Growth Project (SAGP) the first tranche of co-shared equipment which include 323 Drying Mats, 66 Cover Sheets and 50 Plastic Crates were procured. Four focal groups of farmers have also been established for Date, Chilies, Onion and Rice Crops for investment on their agricultural growth. Processing and drying machinery along with Agriculture Implements will be provided on cost sharing basis to farmers (70% by World Bank and 30% by Growers).
TRANSPORT
Mr. Speaker,
Government of Sindh is committed to provide reliable and good quality transport, both private and public, at affordable cost in Urban and Rural areas in the province. In order to efficiently handle the Public Private Partnership Projects, Rs. 9.9 million has been allocated for establishment of PPP node in Transport and Mass Transit Department. Besides, the ADP for the next financial year is pitched at Rs. 3.2 billion, which is an increase of 6.7% over ADP of Rs. 3 billion of CFY.
Government of Sindh intends to introduce Sindh Mass Transit Authority Bill for creation of Sindh Mass Transit Authority to enhance the capacity of the department to conduct mass transit projects and to ensure transparency. With this vision, various critical Mass Transit projects are under process at various stages including development of various BRTs. All BRTs listed below will be finally integrated with the help of Asian Development Bank.
The BRT Yellow Line corridor is 26 km in length with ridership of 150,000 passengers per day. The project cost is Rs. 16 billion. Its route alignment is from Dawood Chowrangi to Shahrah e Quaideen. The project is under implementation in PPP mode of procurement/financing. M/S (CUEC, UCD, BUCRBG CONSORTIUM) have won the contract for infrastructure development.
The BRT Orange Line project is being implemented from Government’s own resources at an estimated cost of Rs. 2.35 billion. The Corridor is 4.7 Km in length, starting from TMA Office Orangi to Board Office Nazimabad. Estimated ridership is 50,000 passenger per day. M/S NESPAK has been appointed as Consultant for this project. The project has been inaugurated. Relocation of Utilities services along the corridor is in progress. Bus Operation and Fare Collection/ITS are being taken up in PPP mode of financing. Ground breaking ceremony has also been conducted.
The BRT Red Line corridor is 21.5 km in length with ridership of 350,000 passenger per day and its route is from Model colony to Peoples Chowrangi (Near Mazar-e-Quaid) via University Road. The estimated cost of this corridor is Rs. 12-15 Billion. ADB has approved Rs. 1.296 million for preparing detail design of Red Line under its Project Design Advance (PDA) funding. The Project is expected to be commissioned by 2018.An amount of Rs. 600 million has been allocated in ADP 2016-17.
BRT Green Line starts from Surjani Town and ends at Municipal Park MA Jinnah road, and is being financed by the Federal Government at a Cost of Rs. 16.085 billion.
Motor Vehicle Inspection and Certification Project has been undertaken in PPP mode of financing. 5 world leading companies participated in the first stage. Currently, 2nd Stage RFP is being finalized, that will be issued to the pre-qualified firm. Establishment of Project Implementation Unit is under progress under the aegis of Transport and Mass Transit Department for smooth implementation of the project.
This project will result in increase of revenues. Previously this fees was collected by traffic police (Rs. 5.7 million). Now, the collection has been enhanced to Rs. 26.7 million by the Transport Department.
In order to provide dedicated bus service for intercity operations, a scheme of induction of 200 buses for intercity have been included in the ADP 2016-17 with Rs.500 million allocation.
Government of Sindh is fully committed for the Revival of KCR project with the assistance of JICA. KCR will have a dual track of 43.3 km with 24 stations at an average distance of 1.5 km. The estimated cost of the project is US $ 2.6 billion. The project is pending on part of JICA, as Government of Sindh had completed all 46 conditions mentioned by JICA and communicated them to JICA on 27th May 2014. However, Government of Sindh may also consider Chinese investment in case JICA fails to go ahead with the project.
SOCIAL WELFARE
Mr. Speaker,
Welfare of the marginalized sections of the society, being the top Government priority, reflects in the budget of the Current Revenue Expenditure in which Social Welfare Department allocation has been increased by 65.5% to Rs. 1.39 billon in the next financial year compared to Rs. 0.84 billion in CFY. The ADP for the next financial year is projected at Rs. 290 million (increase of 45% over ADP of Rs. 200 million of CFY).
We are planning to give an entirely new outlook to the facilities in Social Welfare Department by enhancing facilities of Dar-ul-Aman, Dar-ul-Atfal through keeping hefty allocations for their maintenance and repair and provision of new furniture and other equipment.
In addition, Grant-in-Aid has also been increased from Rs. 5 million to Rs. 22million; Rs. 200 million have been allocated for the Child Protection Authority Sindh; Rs. 84.75 million for purchase of vehicles to strengthen the department and Rs. 34 million as dietary charges for inmates of 18 Rehabilitation Centres (from Rs 30 per day per inmate to Rs. 300 per day per inmate), 4 Dar-ul-Amans and 3 Dar-ul-Atfals. In addition, an allocation of Rs. 250 million has also been kept for year-wise maintenance and repair of 10 Rehabilitation Centres, Dar-ul-Amans and Dar-ul-Atfals.
Moreover, Establishment of Community Development Centers in Karachi and Thatta and Economic Empowerment Support to Urban/Rural Orphan Girls, Women Handicapped throughout Sindh will also be carried out through various ADP schemes.
WOMEN DEVELOPMENT
Mr. Speaker,
Quaid-e-Azam said “I have always maintained that no nation can ever be worthy of its existence that cannot take its women along with men. No struggle can ever succeed without women participating side by side with men …”
Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto had always desired to raise the stature of women and wished to see them participate actively in every walk of life. To realize her dream, Government of Sindh has taken a few initiatives for the legal, social and political empowerment of women. Accordingly, the Current Revenue Expenditure of Women Development Department has been increased from Rs. 92 million in CFY to Rs. 229.1 million in next financial year. This is a substantial increase of 149%.
Additionally, two development schemes “Establishment of Day Care Centre in Karachi” and “Establishment of Women Complaint Cell in Sindh for aid to Women in distress” have been completed and transferred from development to non-development side. The Day Care Centre aims at helping and facilitating the working women by taking care of their infants, whereas, Women Complaints Cell provides protection to the women in distress/ crisis and render basic legal, medical and counseling services to the needy women. A substantial amount has been allocated for Day Care Centre and for Women Complaint Cell. Offices of women complaint cell have been devolved to divisional level with further planning to devolve them to district level in future. Moreover, Rs. 135 million have also been allocated for legal aid of poor women and children prisoners.
I feel glad to inform that Women Development Complexes will also be a source of achievement of social and economic empowerment of women. They will be established at the divisional level. The Women Development Complex of Sukkur and Women Development Complex Karachi will also be established in the CFY.
SPECIAL EDUCATION
Mr. Speaker,
Special Education Department runs 50 Special Education Centres throughout Sindh by providing Education, rehabilitation, skill development through vocational skills to Special Children and others according to their special categories. The Current Revenue Expenditure of Special Education Department has been increased by 34.9 % from Rs. 614.1million in CFY to Rs. 828.3 million in next financial year, but the increase in non-salary budget of Special Education is 433% higher over that of the CFY, through which Government aims at providing teachers of Special Education Department training (locally and abroad) out of block allocation of 100 million. Another 100 million have been allocated for the repair and renovation of 10 Special Education Centres as per Departments demand. Additionally, 18 new posts in various grades will be provided through SNE. Purchase of 3 Braille Embossers for Regional Directorates at a cost of Rs. 9.2 million and installation of Brailed Printing Press at a cost of Rs. 12.25 million has also been planned through SNE.
These interventions amply suggest that improving special education is one of the higher priorities of the Government.
MINORITIES AFFAIR
Mr. Speaker,
Quaid-e-Azam said “Minorities can rest assured that their rights will be protected. No civilized Government can be run successfully without giving minorities a complete sense of security and confidence…”
Government of Sindh is committed to safeguarding the Rights of Minorities as enshrined in the Article 25 of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. As a first step, the allocation of Minorities Affairs Department has been increased by 134% from Rs. 158.3 million in CFY to Rs. 370.3 million for the next financial year. Additionally, allocation for grant-in-aid for the uplift of the social and economic conditions and welfare of minorities in Sindh has been increased by 200% from Rs. 100 million to Rs. 300 million. The ADP allocation for FY 2016-17 is pitched at Rs. 604 million, which is an increase of 6.5% over that of ADP of Rs. 567 million of CFY.
To fulfil its constitutional obligation, Government of Sindh has initiated The Sindh Evacuee Property and Displaced Persons Act, 2016 and The Sindh Hindu Inheritance (Removal of Disabilities) Act, 2016 for welfare and protections of minorities’ communities. It is expected that these laws will materialize in next financial year 2016-17. Sindh has also taken lead by enacting Hindu Marriage Act 2016. 55 minorities’ religious places have been renovated in the past 5 years and 15288 persons of the minority communities have benefitted under various categories of financial assistance, dowry grants, scholarships and medical aid.
SPORTS AND YOUTH AFFAIRS
Mr. Speaker,
The youth are the future of our nation and sports activities channelize their energies in the positive direction. After devolution of the subject to the Provincial Government, we have enhanced the budget of Sports and Youth Affairs Department to promote healthy activities in our province.
The Current Revenue Expenditure of Sports and Youth Affairs Department has been increased by 46% to Rs. 832.9 million in next financial year as against Rs. 570.4 million in CFY. The ADP for the next financial year is projected at Rs. 2 billion, which is an increase of 100% over ADP of Rs. 1 billion of CFY. With this funding, Government of Sindh shall ensure construction of sports stadiums in eight cities of Sindh, organizing traditional sports in Sindh, construction of cricket stadium at MahrabPur, construction of sports complex in Sukkur etc. and lying of synthetics hockey turf in different cities in Sindh.
Allocation under head “sports activities” has been increased by 900% from Rs. 20 million to Rs. 200 million. The allocation for Sindh Sports Board has been increased by 100% from Rs. 20 million to 40 million. Sports associations also play a vital role in the promotion of sports activities and their allocation in this budget has been increased by 150% from Rs. 20 million to Rs. 50 million accordingly.
One of the prime objectives of Government of Sindh is the promotion of sports activities to ensure instilling of positive attitude in the youth so that they do not fall prey to drugs, violence and bad habits.
DEVELOPMENT PORTFOLIO
Mr. Speaker,
The Provincial Annual Development Program is targeted towards poverty alleviation, improving infrastructure, strengthening social sector, generating employment and improving public service delivery with a view to achieving high economic growth and reducing inequality. In this regard one of the important initiatives of the government is the provision of basic infrastructure which acts as a catalyst for regional development and attracting domestic and foreign investment. During the current fiscal year 2015-16, it is expected that 620 development schemes will be completed from July 2015 to June 2016.
The current increase in ADP is unprecedented. The ADP 2016-17 has now been pitched at Rs. 225 billion including Rs. 25 billion for Districts, which is 38.9% higher over and above the ADP 2015-16. The total number of schemes have reached 2773 including 996 new schemes in ADP 2016-17 as compared to 2352 including 590 news schemes in ADP 2015-16. Some important schemes are:-
Allocation of Rs. 2 billion has been kept for improvement of Infrastructure Such as water supply and drainage and roads network of major Towns and Cities.
Separate sector is inducted “Thar-Coal Infrastructure Development” including ongoing schemes of Thar Coal and Water schemes for Thar Coal with an allocation of Rs. 16.9 billion.
Establishment of new company namely PPP support facility, at total cost of Rs. 6.825 billion, to manage viability Gap Funds (VGF) and to improve the PPP project management capacity.
Allocation of Public Health Engineering has been enhanced from Rs. 2.9 billion to 4 billion (38% increase) and Allocation of Rural Development has been enhanced from Rs.1 billion to 2.5 billion (150% increase).
Substantial allocation have been made for the ATC Courts, Forensic Labs and Judiciary to strengthen the law and order arrangements.
Priority schemes have been initiated under Education, Health, Water Supply, Electrification and Roads to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
There will be 20 Foreign Aided Projects in ADP 2016-17 with the counterpart allocation of Rs. 33.85 billion with Foreign Project Assistance (FPA) will be of Rs. 28.8 billion including Rs. 5.05 billion as grant
To enforce financial discipline and fast track the execution of development schemes, the Government of Sindh has introduced a two pronged release policy of incremental releases based on achieving utilization benchmark and linking it with the monitoring reports of these schemes. The monitoring reports are based on field visits by P and D Department’s Monitoring and Evaluation Cell, to ensure quality standards. On the basis of this mechanism, it is observed that actual resources are always available for those schemes which have utilized already released funds and do not have any unsatisfactory monitoring report.
Karachi Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Karachi Division is Rs. 50.3 billion (including District ADPs). Karachi will be one of the focus areas of development for the next financial year. The major development schemes of Karachi are:-
Rs.10 billion have been allocated for major infrastructure projects of Karachi, which will be instrumental for
Construction of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Flyover at Shaheen Complex at cost of Rs. 800 million.
Upgradation of Fire Services for High Rise Buildings (KMC), at the cost of Rs. 499 million.
Upgradation of Piperi Filter Plant /Pumping Station, at the cost of Rs. 900 million.
Construction of University road from Hassan Square to NIPA, at cost of Rs.770 million.
Construction of University road from NED University to Safoora Chowk, at the cost of Rs. 780 million.
Re-habilitation /Reconstruction of Tariq Road from Shaheed-e-Millat Road to Shahrah-e-Quaideen District East, at the cost of Rs. 550 million.
Reconstruction / Rehabilitation of Mosamiyat road Karachi, at the cost of Rs.200 million.
Construction of Hub River Road (Balance Portion), at the cost of Rs.500 million.
Reconstruction /Rehabilitation of road from Surjani to Madinatul Hikmat Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 750 million.
Construction of Under Pass at Regent Plaza Shahrae Faisal Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 525 million.
Construction of U-Turn at Natha Khan Bridge Karachi, at the cost of Rs.141 million.
Construction of Under Pass of Star Gate Shahrae Faisal Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 500 million.
Widening of Shahrae Faisal on both sides from Metropole to Star Gate, at the cost of Rs.850 million.
Remodeling of Baloch Colony Flyover, at cost of Rs. 120 million.
Reconstruction of Drigh Colony Flyover Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 505 million.
Construction of Manzil Pump Flyover at N-5 Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 600 million.
Construction of Under Pass at Submarine Chowrangi Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 500 million.
Allocation for K-IV and S-III have been kept as Rs. 6 billion and Rs. 1 billion respectively.
Up-gradation of Primary Schools to Middle Schools in Malir at the cost of Rs. 57.654 million.
Rehabilitation / Re-construction of Existing Government Boys Primary School A.U Islamia Nazimabad, Karachi at the cost of Rs.30 million.
C-05 Korangi at the cost of 198.975 million.
Strengthening and Improvement of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Karachi at the cost of Rs. 422.789 million.
Construction of 400 Bedded Hospital at Plot # ST-08, Block-10, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, at the cost of Rs. 1736.359 million.
Extension of Services of SIUT, Karachi at the cost of Rs.1.514 billion.
Construction of New 100 MGD Pump House (Equipped with M and E Pumping Machineries) at Dhabeji at the cost of Rs. 1620.720 million.
Providing 6″ dia pipe line for RKV pumping station and Renovation at RKV Pumping station Model Colony UC 01 at the cost of Rs. 18.085 million.
65 MGD Additional Water Supply from Haleji to Pipri at the cost of Rs.6025.240 million.
Revamping of Gujjar Nallah including Service road at the cost Rs. 1000 million.
Improvement of Internal Roads/Streets of Block ‘C’ and Block ‘L’ North Nazimabad, Karachi.(4.00 Km) at the cost of Rs. 50 million.
Establishment and Strengthening of Darul Atfal and Rehabilitation of Street Children Through Civil Society Organization, Korangi # 5, Karachi at the cost of Rs. 314.540 million.
Construction of BRTS Orange Line at the cost of Rs. 2364.190 million.
Construction of BRTS Red Line (Total Cost Rs.15000 million, Chinese Loan Assistance Share (85%) Rs.12750 million GOS Share (15%) Rs.2250 million) at the cost of Rs. 2250 million.
Red Line Detail Design through-ADB Assisted PDA-PC-II at the cost of Rs.277.498 million.
Rehabilitation of Wazir Mansion Karachi at a cost of Rs. 30 million
Establishment of Autism Centre at Karachi at a cost of Rs. 100 million
Construction of new Annexe buildings in the premises of Sindh High Court at a cost of Rs.985.825 million
Hyderabad Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Hyderabad Division is Rs. 53.5 billion (including District ADPs). Hyderabad is the second largest city of Sindh Province and is a district and divisional headquarters. During the Current financial year, accelerated funds were released to expedite infrastructure uplift of Hyderabad city, which has changed the outlook of the city. The major schemes of Hyderabad division are:-
Repair / Renovation of Government Degree College Kali Mori Hyderabad at the cost of amount 58.677 million.
Establishment of Cardiology Unit at Sindh Government Hospital Qasimabad, Hyderabad. At the cost of amount Rs.300.0 million.
Providing, Laying and Jointing PVC/MS Pipe lines 3″, 4″, 6 and 8″ dia water supply pipe lines at different locations of Qasimabad PS-47 at the cost of amount Rs.113.590 million
Improvement / Construction of road from Rajputana Hospital to National Highway Bypass via Gulistan-e-Sajjad village Budho Palari Makhdoom Rafiq-uz-Zaman road dual carriageway road mile 0/0-2/4 (4.0Kms) at the cost of amount Rs.300.548 million
Surface Drainage Scheme in Deh Gadali, Panjmoro Dethki U/C Shahmir Rahu Taluka Saeedabad, District Matiari alongwith Direct Disposal System of Tubewells at the cost of amount Rs. 98.685 million
Widening /Reconditioning of road from Mullakatiar Bulri Shah Karim road via Jhang Katiar road mile 0/0-6/2 at the cost of amount Rs.110.0 million
Construction of Filtration Plant at Mehar at the cost of Rs.400.0 million
Urban Drainage Scheme Sehwan (Improvement and Extension) Taluka Sehwan at the cost of Rs.305.600 million
Construction of Overhead Bridge on Railway line between Kotri City and the Industrial Area Kotri.
District Jamshoro at the cost of Rs.1277.406 million
Development of Zulfiqarabad at the cost of Rs.13952.720 million
Establishment of IBA Campus Thatta (Capital Rs.773.37+Rev: Rs.224.51) at the cost of Rs.997.880 million
Construction of Sindh Coastal Highway Sakro / Gaghar Phatak – Keti Bandar – Shah Ghorabari/ Bunder – Ali Bunder (Ghaghar Phatak – Keti Bunder Phase-1) (90.0 Kms) at the cost of Rs. 2407.949 million
Expansion of dargah Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar at a cost of Rs. 146.4 million
Establishment of Cadet College Badin at a cost of Rs. 1.24 billion
Laying of synthetic Hockey turf at Dadu at a cost of Rs. 110 million
Sukkur Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Sukkur Division is Rs. 22.7 billion (including District ADPs). A vast network of institution building and infrastructure development has taken place in the whole of Division during tenure of this Government. Following are few ongoing and new initiatives:-
Small Surface Drainage Scheme Jagir Ali Akbar Near Kumb (Re-Revised) at the cost of amount Rs. 120.0 million
Construction/Rehabilitation of 21 Nos schemes of Khairpur including Masonary Structures Khairpur at the cost of amount Rs. 802.292 million
Khairpur Special Economic Zone(Re-Revised) at the cost of amount Rs. 1987.013 million
Drainage Scheme Ghotki city (Mega Project) at the cost of amount Rs.362.530 million
Strengthening of Sukkur Institute of Business Administration (Sukkur IBA) (C: 348.208 + R: 143.862) at the cost of amount Rs.492.070 million
Construction of Makrani Masjid, Bunder Road Sukkur at the cost of amount Rs.117.365 million
W/R of road from Salehpat to Sikanderabad mile 0/0-25/2 (40.25 Kms) at the cost of amount Rs. 714.587 million
Establishment of Women University at Sukkur at a cost of Rs. 2.7 billion
Establishment of Ghulam Mohammad Mahar Medical College Sukkur at a cost of Rs. 3.32 billion
Establishment of Date-Palm Research Institute Sukkur at cost of Rs.100 million
Rehabilitation of Dargah Sachal Sarmast Khairpur at a cost of Rs. 77.5 million
Establishment of IT University at Khairpur at a cost of Rs. 1.8 billion
Strengthening of Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences at a cost of Rs. 1.4 billion
Khairpur Medical College at a cost of Rs. 1.5 billion
Drainage Scheme Mirpur Mathelo at a cost of Rs. 388.8 million
Larkana Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Larkana Division is Rs. 27.3 billion (including District ADPs). The major schemes of Larkana division are:-
Protection, Preservation Promotion and Development of World Heritage Site of Moenjodaro at the cost of Rs. 285.429 million.
Establishment of Mono Technic Institute at Garhi Khuda Bux at the cost of Rs.114.957 million.
Establishment of Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering Science and Technology, Constituent College / Campus at Larkana at the cost of Rs.2636.908 million.
Larkana Development Plan at the cost of Rs. 747.420 million.
Construction of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari People’s Park at Larkana at the cost of Rs.114.998 million.
Construction of Bakhtawar People’s Park at Moen jo Daro at the cost of Rs.641.155 million.
Sindh Barrages Improvement Project (Phase-I) – Rehabilitation and Modernization of Guddu Barrage – (Total: Rs. 20,241.00 M) IDA Share Rs 18,271.00 M and GoS Share Rs 1,970.00 M) at the cost of Rs. 1970 million.
Urban Water Supply Scheme Thull Town at the cost of Rs. 585.700 million
Construction of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Flyover Bridge Jail Phatak (Railway Crossing) at the cost of Rs.580.748 million.
Imp: and Ext: Drainage Scheme Kamber at the cost of Rs. 648.500 million.
Larkana Intra city Project at a cost of Rs. 250 million
Construction/Improvement of provincial roads in district Larkana at a cost of Rs. 507.6 million
Establishment of vocational training centre at Kashmore at a cost of Rs. 110.3 million
Establishment of Cadet College Jacobabad at a cost of Rs. 988.7 million
Construction of District Court building at Kambar at a cost of Rs. 177.3 million
Mirpurkhas Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Mirpurkhas Division is Rs. 26.9 billion (including District ADPs). Few ongoing and new initiatives for the next year are:-
CC Lining of Noor Wah Ex: Thar Canal of Umerkot Sub Division at the cost of amount Rs.795.756 million
Mirpurkhas Development Project (Road Component) at the cost of amount Rs.369.281 million
Construction of Sewerage Line Dia 18″ and 12″dia UC-1 to UC-8 Mirpurkhas City at the cost of amount Rs.141.547 million
Construction of Road from Khensar to Khiro veryam 0/0-18/5 (30KM) the cost of amount Rs.431.378 million
Construction of road from Mithi Intersection to Naukot (Upto ADB Project End point) (42.0 Kms) at the cost of amount Rs.2800.0 million
Pipe Line W/S Scheme Enroute Villages Chhor Khokhrapar at the cost of amount Rs.231.420 million
Providing Drainage Facilities in Left over/New Developed Areas of Umerkot Town at the cost of amount Rs.60.0 million
Construction of Road from Annupani to Bhittala Mile 0/0-17/0 (27.37 Kms). at the cost of amount Rs.237.028 million
Construction of Rural Health Centre Shujabad at a cost of Rs. 150 million
Establishment of Medical College at Mirpurkhas at cost of Rs. 2.1 billion
Establishment of Cadet College at Mithi at a cost of Rs. 491.1 million
Treatment of Iron deficiency in Tharparkar at a cost of Rs. 510 million
Construction of Kali Das Dam and Veer Vah Dam at a cost of Rs. 703.4 million
Makhi Farash Link Canal project at a cost of Rs. 5.3 billion
Establishment of Public School at Umerkot at a cost of Rs. 249.2 million
Construction of Court buildings at Kunri, Samaro and Pitharo at cost of Rs. 85 million
Shaheed Benazirabad Division
Mr. Speaker,
The ADP allocation for Shaheed Benazirabad Division is Rs. 18.9 billion (including District ADPs). Following are some of the important development schemes:
Surface Drainage Scheme in Deh 28 and Deh 38 Dad, UC Chaneser-I, Taluka Nawabshah, District SBA at the cost of Rs. 189.182 million.
Rehabilitation / Lining of Irrigation Channels in SBA at the cost of Rs.1516.468 million.
Reconditioning / Construction of District Roads of Shaheed Benazirabad at the cost of Rs. 2083.897 million.
W/R road from Jam Sahib to Hazrat Hout Fakir road mile 0/0-15/0 (24.14 Kms) at the cost of Rs. 401.935 million.
Widening / Reconditioning Hala – Shahdadpur – Sanghar with asphalt surface Mile 0/0-43/1 = 43-1 = 69.58 Km at the cost of Rs.700.133 million.
Construction of Abdul Salam Thahim Flyover Bridge at Shahdadpur over Jatia Railway Phatak at the cost of Rs. 688.231million.
Construction of road from Tharu Shah Pathak to connect Bhorti, Manjhat and Tharu Shah road Mile 0/0-3/2 (5.00 km) at the cost of Rs.50 million.
W/R of road from Halani via Mehrabpur to Mehran Highway at point Bag Bachrah (22 Kms) at the cost of Rs.594 million.
Establishment of Cadet College for girls at SBA at cost of Rs. 1.89 billion
Establishment of Benazir Institue of Urology and Transplantation at SBA district at a cost of Rs. 741.2 million
Construction of new district Jail for 250 prisoners at a cost of Rs. 287.2 million
Integrated Solid Waste Management Project (Phase I and II) at SBA at cost of Rs. 684.3 million
Upgradation of Sindh Government Hospital/THQ Hospital Shahdadkot at a cost of Rs. 356.6 million
Construction of Judicial Complex at Sanghar at a cost of Rs. 98.5 million
Widening/Reconditioning of Hala-Shahdadpur-Sanghar road at a cost of Rs. 700.1 million
RELIEF / WELFARE MEASURES
Grants and Subsidies on Food Items
Mr. Speaker,
Government of Sindh distributed 347,121 bags of wheat worth Rs. 1.17 billion, free of cost amongst the drought affected people to overcome the drought condition in district Tharparkar and Umerkot. This measure was in addition to the wheat subsidy of Rs. 1.5 billion incurred during the procurement of wheat and Rs. 1.3 billion for retirement of bank loans against procurement of wheat.
Pays and Allowances of Government Employees
Mr. Speaker,
For Government employees, pensioners and workers I announce the following relief measures:
Ad-hoc increases of 2013 and 2014 will be merged in the pay scales;
10% Adhoc Relief Allowance on running basic pay will be allowed to all employees with effect from 1st July 2016;
Special Conveyance Allowance to disabled employees @Rs.1000/- per month
Integrated Allowance allowed to Qasid/N.Qasid/Daftaries fromRs.300/- PM to Rs.450/- PM;
Revision of Late Sitting Conveyance Charges by 50% to employees in BS 1-15;
Washing Allowance @ Rs. 100/- and Dress Allowance @ Rs.100/- allowed to employees in BS 1-4 from Rs. 100/- to Rs. 150/;
M. Phil Allowance @25% of Ph.D. Allowance i.e. Rs.2,500 per month
Additional Charge Allowance /Deputation Allowance Revision of Ceiling from Rs.6,000/- to Rs.12,000/- for identical and non-identical post;
Current Charge Special Pay – Revision of ceiling from Rs.6,000/- to Rs.12,000/-
Increase in Qualification Pay @50% and inclusion of ACCA/CIMA qualification – CA/ICMA/ICWA/ACCA/CIMA, Staff College/NMC/NDC, NIPA Adv. Course / MCMC etc.
On the pattern of increase in the pay of Government employees the minimum wage of Labour for their benefit is being increased from Rs.13,000 to Rs.14,000 per month.
Following relief measures for the welfare of the pensioners are being announced:-
10% increase in net pension to all pensioners with effect from 1st July 2016;
25% increase in net pension to all pensioners above the age of 85 years with effect from 1st July 2016;
Mr. Speaker,
It is worth mentioning that Sindh Government has introduced the Direct Credit Scheme for direct disbursement of pension and commutation into retirees’ account. This scheme will be mandatory for all civil servants of Government of Sindh who stand retired on or after 1st February 2016, whereas old pensioners will also have the option to shift to this scheme.
FISCAL REFORMS
Mr. Speaker,
In order to rationalize the existing tax/fee rates and seek new avenues, the following fiscal measures are being proposed for the financial year 2016-17. The additional revenues generated through these measures will facilitate the Government of Sindh in providing relief to its citizens.
Sindh Sales Tax on Services
Mr. Speaker,
Sindh is the only province which has gradually reduced the standard rate of sales tax. While the standard rate of sales tax is 17% in Federation, 16% in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and 15% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Sindh reduced this rate from 16% to 15% in 2014-15 and 14% in 2015-16. Sindh believes that reduction in tax rate prompts tax compliance and increases revenue yield. Hence, we are proposing that the standard rate of Sindh sales tax be reduced to 13% for the year 2016-17. Although this will cause loss of Rs.3.5 billion in revenues, a part of it will made up by increasing efficiency in SRB’s tax machinery and by adjusting the non-statutory rate of tax.
The reduction in the statutory rate of Sindh sales tax and the simultaneous continuation of higher statutory rates of sales tax in the Federation and other Provinces has caused a breach in the net collection of Sindh sales tax because the inputs suffer higher tax rate than the output tax of Sindh sales tax. With a view to safeguarding the loss of Sindh sales tax revenue, I propose that this input tax credit of amounts accounting for more than 13% of the value of input shall not be allowed.
Certain services are liable to Provincial sales tax in other Provinces but not in Sindh. With a view to equating the tax base of Sindh sales tax with those of other Provinces, I propose to levy Sindh sales tax on Chartered Flights Services, Consultancy Services, Public Relation Services, Visa Processing Services, Debt Collection Services and Supply Chain Management Services.
At present persons having annual turnover of up to Rs.3.6 million are exempted from sales tax on certain services. I propose a 10% increase in this exemption threshold and now such small enterprises having annual turnover of Rs.4 million will be exempted from the levy of sales tax.
This August House will be pleased to know that I propose to increase the scope of exemption on internet and broadband services used by households, students and researchers. The exemption threshold on internet services is being enlarged from 2 mbps speed and Rs.1,500/- per month per user to 4 mbps and Rs.2,500/- per month per user.
In my last budget, I had announced introduction of negative list of services taxation in 2016-17. This system aims at reducing classification disputes and is simple to understand and work. Your Government has completed the system study in this regard. It is proposed to introduce this negative list system of sales taxation with effect from 01st December, 2016, for which an Amendment Bill shall be tabled soon. This time gap shall enable the Trades, the Chambers, the Associations and the service providers to study the details of this system and to give their valuable views and suggestions before the new system get enforced on the 01st December, 2016.
Before parting with the issues of Sindh sales tax on services, I am glad to inform this August House that the Honorable Sindh High Court in its judgment dated 2nd June, 2016, has declared the levy of Federal Excise Duty (FED) on services to be ultra-vires the Constitution and has held that taxation of services is in the exclusive legislative domain of the Provinces. This landmark judgment has resolved a long outstanding issue and the services providers in Sindh are now relieved of the threat of double taxation. In the Finance Bill, 2016, laid before the National Assembly on 3rd June, 2016, Federation has proposed to withdraw FED on most of the services, but some of the services shall continue to be levied with FED. In the said Finance Bill, the Federation has also proposed certain amendments which negate the VAT concept of sales taxation like disallowing of eligibility of Provincial sales tax to be an input for the purpose of Federal sales tax on goods. Surprisingly, the Provincial Sales Tax Authorities have also declared to be withholding agents for the purpose of advance income tax for the non-filers and even the e-filing of Provincial sales tax returns have been demanded to be stopped if the advance income tax is not paid by the Federal tax non-filers. We have informed the Federal Government that such Federal restrictions and requirements are not acceptable to Sindh and, therefore, rectifications be made in said Finance Bill, 2016. Your Government is pursuing the Sindh case and it is hoped that necessary corrective action will be taken by the Federal Government and the provisions of the 18th Amendment and the 7th NFC Award will be honored and respected by all concerned.
Excise, Taxation and Narcotics
An enhancement of 0.10% in the existing rate of Infrastructure Cess is being proposed. A rebate of 5% on payment of Property Tax in First Quarter of the fiscal year is being proposed. 10% late payment surcharge on the arrears of tax of the previous fiscal year is being proposed to impose on as per 1st day of July of the new fiscal year.
Board of Revenue
Amendment in Stamp Act / Valuation Table 1899, Registration fee, Fees levied under Land Revenue Act, 1967
GOVERNANCE REFORMS
Public Financial Management Reforms
Mr. Speaker,
With a firm determination to improve public service delivery and to reduce poverty, Government of Sindh strategized its stance on Public Financial Management Reforms through a multipronged Public Financial Management (PFM) Strategy in 2014. Under the two interlinked action plans – Sindh Tax Revenue Mobilization Plan and Public Financial Action Plan, concerted efforts are being made to mobilize and rationalize taxes, enhance transparency, improve accountability, attain greater efficiency, maintain fiscal discipline, and ensure public representatives’ oversight in the management of public finances. Government’s reform efforts are being shouldered by the World Bank and European Union through their financial and technical assistance. The major objectives include: improving credibility of budget, its execution, accounting and reporting, and policy feedback.
Sindh Tax Revenue Mobilization Plan (STRMP)
Sindh Tax Revenue Mobilization Plan (STRMP) promises wide-ranging tax reforms in the province, consolidating and deepening reform initiatives of Government of Sindh. It aims at generating higher revenues for the Government of Sindh while lowering the costs of compliance for taxpayers and enhancing equity and efficiency of taxation. The tax receipts are expected to increase from the current Rs. 91.37 billion to Rs. 200 billion in next three years after the implementation of STRMP. Tax Reform Unit based in FD has critical role to coordinate among the tax collecting agencies; facilitate evidence based tax policy formulation, administration and coordination; rationalization and simplification of tax system and its processes. In this process, academia (IBA Karachi) is assisting government in evidence-based empirical research on different taxes.
Sindh Revenue Board has been a success story and has shown remarkable performance in the past, with an increase in tax collection from Rs. 8.28 billion to almost Rs. 61 billion in a mere span of 5 years. SRB has evolved a strategic plan, which envisages annual growth of 28% in tax revenue collections and targets tax receipts Rs. 78 billion in 2016-17 and Rs. 100 billion in 2017-18.
Budget Strategy Paper
Government of Sindh, under Sindh Public Sector Management Reform Program (initiated with the assistance of the World Bank), has now prepared Budget Strategy Paper for the second consecutive year.
The Budget Strategy Paper is to be placed before the cabinet every year for its input and recommendations thereby providing public representatives sufficient opportunities to comprehend Budget complexities at ease. The Budget Strategy Paper once approved by the cabinet becomes the guiding policy document for consolidation of budgetary proposals. This is a leap forward in the realism of transparency in fiscal policy formulation embedded with spirit of participation and ownership of the stakeholders.
Master Data Re-structuring
I am delighted to inform you that with the aim of improving transparency and accountability in the public sector, Finance Department has restructured the demands so that each Principal Accounting Officer of his department has his/her own demand, both on the development and non-development side, and he/she is fully accountable for it. This is great improvement from the past when several Secretaries/PAOs were allocated money from the same demand making accountability difficult. Accordingly, the number of demands for grants presented to the Assembly have increased. We have also created information on Department wise allocations in the Annual Budget Statement to improve the presentation of information.
In the Annual Budget Statement (ABS) too, information has been created department wise thus giving better idea of how much is being allocated to each department. The ABS has also provided more information on debt giving one fair idea of our Public Accounts System.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
Mr. Speaker,
I would like to thank you for allowing me to present the Sindh Budget 2016-17. I also thank the people of Sindh who have stood by their elected Government and guided us at every step. This Budget is a reflection of their aspirations; a testament of their hopes; and evidence of the trust they have laid in their representatives. We make a commitment to serve the people of Sindh with new resolve and energy. We will make every attempt to justify the confidence people of Sindh have shown in us.
Mr. Speaker,
Countless hours of hard work have been put in by the employees of the Finance department in the timely preparation of this budget. Therefore, I would like to bring on record of this august house, my appreciation for all the officers and staff of Finance Department, who worked with dedication and untiring commitment to complete this voluminous exercise in a befitting manner. I would also like to extend my appreciation for the efforts put in by Planning and Development Department for completion of this huge task within the stipulated time frame. They had the difficult task of coming up to the expectation of line departments, which I believe has been adequately achieved.
I will also take this opportunity to remind all public servants of Sindh that Allah Almighty has bestowed upon us a great responsibility. We all must serve this province and motherland with complete devotion, honesty and dedication. I hope that our sincere efforts will pave the path to peace, growth and prosperity.
Finally, I would like to end this budget speech with these encouraging words of the father of the nation, Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah “I have no doubt in my mind about the bright future that awaits Pakistan when its vast resources of men and material are fully mobilized. The road that we may have to travel may be somewhat uphill at present but with courage and determination we mean to achieve our objective which is to build up and construct a strong and prosperous Pakistan”.
I pray to Almighty Allah to guide us and give us the strength to traverse this path and to serve the people of this province and country well. Ameen!
Pakistan Zindabad!
For more information, contact:
Naveed Kamran Baloch
Secretary Finance
Finance Department, Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat No.4-A,
Court Road, Karachi
Office Location Barrack No. 19
Telephone: 99203114
Fax: 99206511
E-mail: fs@fdsindh.gov.pk