PTI rejects CM’s claim, insists Centre gave Rs613bn to Sindh

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Rejecting a claim of the Sindh chief minister that the federal government had given Rs550 billion to the province, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) parliamentarians on Thursday said that the Centre had given Rs613 billion to Sindh so far and the provincial government had been misleading people by showing the wrong figures.Addressing a media briefing outside the Sindh Assembly, the MPAs of the PTI, Bilal Ghaffar and Arsalan Taj Ghuman, discussed the financial performance of the provincial government for the financial year 2018 and 2019. The party’s MPAs, Dr Imran Ali Shah and Sanji Gangwani, were also present.Ghaffar said that the chief minister had claimed that the province got Rs550 billion from the federation. “There are three types of federal transfers given to the provinces. Under the National Finances Commission (NFC) award, Sindh was given Rs550 billion while in the head of royalty and state transfer the target was Rs43bn and they have got Rs48bn,” Ghaffar explained. “Sindh has also been given Rs 16 billion in the head of the Octroi Zila Tax (OZT) and if these three transfers are added the Sindh government has already got Rs613 billion.”He said the Pakistan Peoples Party-led Sindh government was simply misleading people and blaming it on the federal government. “The chief minister should know that when schemes come, money also comes and when more schemes come, more money comes.”The MPA said under the pressure of National Accountability Bureau, the rulers of the province were telling the wrong facts and figures. He demanded that the chief minister should tender an apology on the floor of the National Assembly for misleading people and assembly members.Ghaffar said that there was a shortfall of Rs90 billion in 21 government departments. Criticising the Sindh government for failing to collect sales tax, Ghaffar said that the chief minister always praises the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), however, the SRB has collected Rs36 billion less revenue.“Due to corruption in the Sindh government, international institutions are not ready to have confidence in them.” He said there was a shortfall of Rs44 billion in foreign projects, adding that as compared to last year, this year Sindh had collected fewer taxes.He said the ministers of the provincial government kept saying that they had no funds. The minister of public health simply did not spend 47 per cent of the available budget, but still, he said, they had no funds available. Delaying schemes to increase their cost was the modus operandi of the government’s white-collar crimes.PTI MPA Ghuman said that the performance of the Sindh government was nose-diving and they had collected fewer taxes. He said they blame the federal government for not releasing funds which was a lame excuse.He said there were available funds in accounts of different departments but they were not ready to spend the funds. He said they only work through bogus bills where contractors offer kickbacks to them.The PTI MPAs said the rulers of Sindh were more interested in the development of the Bilawal House than the development of the province. There was no dearth of funds with the government but they were just not ready to spend the money on the public. He asked the government of Sindh to stop misleading people, adding that they would bring more facts before people to tell them how the rulers of Sindh were misguiding them.

from The News International - Karachi https://ift.tt/2Il6czK
The News International - Karachi