DESPITE repeated claims by the relevant government officials that the budget for the next financial year will have a strategic direction, indications are not encouraging as far as development spending and provision of relief to the ordinary citizen are concerned.
This is evident from the development outlay approved by the National Economic Council (NEC), which stands at Rs.4,224 billion including Federal Public Sector Development Programme of Rs.1,000, down 20pc when compared to the current years revised allocation of Rs1.1 trillion and 37pc lower than the original allocation of Rs1.4 trillion.
In a country where the private sector is not as instrumental as it should be, developmental allocations play a crucial role in generating much-needed economic activities in different parts of the country.
However, it is regrettable that we make somewhat small allocations for development citing various excuses and even these allocations are revised downwards during the year.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has emphasized prioritizing health, education, infrastructure, water sector and housing in upcoming development initiatives but one fails to understand how this vision is to be implemented with scaled down spending.
Our attitude towards development is explained by the fact that ministries in all sought allocation of Rs.3,000 billion and the Ministry of Planning also demanded Rs. 1,500 billion for development for the next year.
It is understood that the country needs an increase in the defence budget in view of the real threat to the security of the motherland but it must also be kept in mind that the water sector too needs special attention because of the weaponization of water by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Pakistan is facing a grave situation because of our criminal negligence towards proper exploitation of water resources and the next budget does not make it a priority.
Similarly, there is also a need to invest significantly on agriculture, information technology, research and development and education if we are genuinely interested in moving towards the cherished goal of economic sovereignty.
We must rectify flawed policies as these have caused a substantial contraction of 13.5 percent in major crops this year.
