Get the latest news and updates from Dawn
With development spending slashed by 30 per cent despite glaring infrastructure deficits and current expenditure rising by 20pc to sustain an already bloated and inefficient provincial bureaucracy, the proposed Rs3.5 trillion Sindh Budget, which projects a Rs37 billion deficit, is anything but forward-looking.
The current budget reinforces the perception that the PPP has diluted many of its core values to align with the country’s prevailing power structure, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish the party from its rivals. What still sets it apart is its legacy of sacrifices for democracy, its contribution to the Constitution and a more equitable distribution of resources among provinces, and its historic role in mobilising ordinary citizen to stand up for their rights.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the budget — the 28th since the PPP came to power in Sindh in 2008 and retained it through three successive elections. The party’s enduring political dominance in the province appears to have bred a degree of complacency. Despite limited progress on key development indicators, the government continues to prioritise subjects that do not necessarily align with Sindh’s most pressing economic and social needs.
