Funds not used

Sometimes one is forced to wonder what role our government bodies see for themselves. The question arises even more so after listening to the Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s briefing on how various government departments in Sindh used – or did not use – the funds allocated to them. It appears that it is not shortage of development funds, rather their systematic lack of utilisation that is a chronic problem in all government departments. The Sindh chief minister criticised the fact that no department had used more than 50 percent of their development funds in the year 2014-15. The highest spender – at 50 percent – was the works and service department while the mines and minerals department spent only four percent of what had been allocated to it. The development budget of Rs168 billion was earmarked for 2,937 development schemes, with 1658 of these ongoing and 1279 new projects. The figures sound impressive, but the actual spending should raise alarm bells.
Out of the Rs7.2 billion released to the health department, only Rs2.7 billion was used. The industries department used only 46 percent of available funds. In an era where government officials continue to complain of a shortage of funds, not spending approved development budgets cannot be justified. The fact that most government departments in Sindh continue to spend under 30 percent of the development budgets allotted to them leads us to ask whether this is an issue of capacity or will-power. It is the same when one looks at other provincial governments, where lapsing development budgets are collated into one mega project or the other. The Sindh chief minister will be meeting the specific departments to inquire why the funds were not allocated as budgeted, but the fact is that the Sindh government should have been overseeing the entire process. Such information should not come as a surprise to senior elected officials. Perhaps it is time for the government to decide that it cannot undertake the task of development. If not, then there is a serious need for someone to step up and make sure they do this most basic of their duties.