Sindh to pour taxpayers’ money on civil servants

Whenever a country goes through a period of economic recession, citizens automatically start cutting down on unnecessary expenses, focusing only on the essentials. However, this basic principle of economical spending seems to be beyond the understanding of the Sindh government, which chooses to provide luxury vehicles to its civil servants at a time when millions of people in the province are hungry or homeless. In the wake of this year’s elections, the budget for the coming fiscal year is expected to allocate Rs 6.85 billion for salaries, perks and facilities for provincial ministers, advisors, special assistants and parliamentary secretaries at a time when, on the one hand, inflation is making it difficult for ordinary households to meet their daily expenses while, on the other hand, nearly 1.9 million flood-affected families are still waiting for their homes to be rebuilt. Abdul Jabbar Abro, a resident of Larkana, told The Express Tribune that his house was destroyed during the heavy rains and floods of 2022. “Even though the Sindh government had announced financial assistance for the reconstruction of our house, we have not received any assistance even after two years and we continue to be homeless,” lamented Abro. Unfortunately, millions of flood victims like Abro are likely to give up their hopes of a new home anytime soon in view of the Sindh government’s recent decision to provide over 111 civil servants with brand new 1800cc cars along with other benefits like petrol allowances and free air tickets. According to Qurban Baloch, a senior analyst and parliamentary affairs expert from Sindh, the aim of this action by the Sindh government is to reward and secure the allegiances of politicians associated with the ruling party. “This situation is being observed not only in Sindh but also in other provinces.” Many years ago, competition among political parties was based on performance, but today the situation has completely changed. All efforts of the ruling political parties are now focused on satisfying their customers,” Baloch said. Dr Murtaza Khuhro, an economist and former bureaucrat, termed such expenditure as “non-essential”. “The elected government should give priority to the welfare and improvement of living conditions of the people in underdeveloped areas of the province. Non-essential expenditure should wait until the living standards of the people in these areas improve,” Dr Khuhro said. It is to be noted that like other members of the assembly, provincial ministers and councillors draw a monthly salary of Rs 150,000 in addition to other perks from the Sindh Assembly. Similarly, the parliamentary secretaries of the Sindh Assembly and the chairmen of the standing committees are also provided with cars by the respective departments and the Sindh Assembly, besides a monthly salary of Rs 150,000, among other benefits. Moreover, as members of the Sindh Assembly, all provincial ministers, parliamentary secretaries and chairmen of the standing committees are provided with unlimited medical cover, annual free air tickets, sessional allowances and travelling allowances. During the sessions of the Sindh Assembly, each MNA is also provided with an additional sessional allowance of Rs 5,000 per day. Speaking to The Express Tribune on the issue, Advocate Arslan Islam Sheikh, spokesperson of the Sindh government, said, “All privileges granted to ministers, advisors and parliamentary secretaries are given as per the existing rules and regulations, which have been in force for the last five years.” However, the Sindh government will endeavour to minimise these expenses as much as possible.”