Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

The priorities of Punjab government are all messed up, lets see how they allocated for some important sectors in Budget 2012-13:

Health: 16.5 Billion

Education: 25 Billion

Laptops: 4 Billion

South Punjab Development Program: 10.5 Billion

Metrobus: 11 Billion

Energy: 10 Billion and now instead of generating energy they will be spending 3.5 billions on purchasing solar lamps for kids in the villages so that they can continue their studies during loadshedding.

More amount was earmarked for Metro as compared to whole of South Punjab’s development. The amount allocated for metro in the budget was 11 billion where as according to the CM it has cost three times more to build. I wonder which programs would have been shelved to bring this project to reality?

Another interesting thing that I see in this document is that in 2011-2012 budget:

[TABLE=“width: 342”]

Sector
Allocated for ADP
Revised ADP
% age of budget

Education
23.9
15.8
2.430769231

Health
16.5
11.5
1.769230769

South Punjab development Program
10
7.5
1.153846154

Energy
9
2
0.307692308

The proportion of all these important sectors are already paltry as compared to the total budget outlay, and they have not even utilized all the money reserved for this purpose. Maybe they used them in other important projects.

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Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Very nice.
A lot of people appreciate Shahbaz for things he has done for the province. But he is actually more of a ‘naadaan dost’ of the province. My analysis is that these ‘naadaaniyan’ stem from the autocratic way he is running the government. I am alluding to the fact that he has more than 15 ministries under his belt. In other words, he’s doing everything on his own.
Like someone said in a talkshow: ‘agar khaali kamray main akaylay bolein to kaabeena ka ijlaas ho jaata he’.

3

Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

^ he has only spent on things which are tangible like bridges, roads, metro, laptops, a few Danish schools, and ashiana housing etc. All these things can win him votes but he has done nothing to improve systems like education, health, energy, bringing impoverished areas at par with the others and even infrastructure. There's no difference between him and the nazims that existed in musharrafs regime.

4

Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Security in the province is better than the rest but that's after begging the taleban and pandering LEJ. Otherwise the graph of crimes in the province has shot up during the past 5 years.

5

Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Congratulations, ujala honay wala hay Punjab main 2.5 billion rupees say:

http://www.nawaiwaqt.com.pk/assets/nawaiwaqt/uploads/epaper/2013-02-27/Lahore/epaper_details_news_images/news_detail_img-epaper_id-4013-epaper_page_id-48588-epaper_map_detail_id298681.jpg

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Sharifs priority is only one whatever the method - Self projection and Ego enhancement! rest are just numbers!

So the result you find, energy solution from the richest province of the country - solar lamps! instead of fixing the energy need by developing a big solar farm or other power generation project, they went on to distribute solar lamps to students!

Instead of improving cross province education infrastructure and standards, they went to distribute laptops! many colleges and schools could have got IT labs with triple the number of laptops and every student could have used these.

Instead of investing wisely for long term infrastructure for mass transit system, he scrapped the light railway and on similar infrastructure/bridges he decided to run buses!

Having learnt nothing from past yellow cab scheme, again distribute taxis to graduates!! instead of generating jobs by some tangible projects industries, who will hire a taxi when many will not afford it or dont have jobs?

it all shows short sighted vision and most of it provide excellent chances of Sharifs self and family projections as giving away freebies to "awam" as Kings! Ballay Ballay and wah wah! thats what the objective and priority is!

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Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Really? 25 BILLION on Education!!! Where is it? I was watching a video recently about the schools of Punjab…OMG…it was SAD…kids just sitting on the floor, outside, there are animals (donkeys, chickens, etc.) in the schools…and these are so called GOVERNMENT schools, most teachers are not going to the schools…

Some schools are used as storage areas, there is a HEAD MISTRESS who is getting the kids to massage her legs, and then beating the little girls coz they did not massage properly!!!

what is going on?

If anyone wants to see what I am talking about :

It breaks my heart to see this little kids…how the future of Pakistan is being wasted!!! :frowning:

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Law & Order is better then other provinces.
Health is better then other provinces.
Education is better then other provinces.
Corruption is less then other provinces.
Development works are better then other provinces.
Record spending on poor areas for ex. South Punjab.
Recovery from natural disasters is better then other provinces.
Mega projects are only completed in Punjab province.

Still SS has wrong priorities.

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Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Dont agree with simple statements without any source or evidence, do check with NAB though! Health, Education, Corruption is not better at all. Security may be better, Thats because Punjab has been like that historically, there is no miracle by macho CM here! and yeh LEJ understanding must have helped, which is sinister itself!

and just before leaving the government again bandar bant, sweeping order to make 100000 contract employees made permanent without looking into merit or process! - just to buy some votes on expense of public money and next govt will pay!

http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/03/02/news/national/shahbaz-confirms-over-100-000-contractual-employees/

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

At least he is doing something unlike other politicians who are still stuck at roti kapra, err n makan (dont think so)

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Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

I don’t know about you, but i moved from abroad few months ago and after visiting the Karachi/Peshawar i can vouch for Shahbaz Shareef government. My main business is concentrated in the cities of Faisalabad, Lahore & Multan and i meet quite a people daily nearly all of them are happy with SS style and his governance and also what Zobia said.

12

Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Development budget: Half of Punjab

The Punjab government has spent just Rs70 billion of its Rs250 billion development budget for fiscal 2012-13 in the first seven months of the year, around half of it in Lahore alone, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Under finance rules, the Punjab government should have spent around Rs145 billion on development by the end of January, but had only spent Rs70 billion. Of this, Rs34.19 billion was spent on projects in Lahore, the vast majority of it, Rs31 billion, on the Metro Bus Service.

A senior Finance Department official said it was normal for utilisation of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) to remain low in the first six months of the financial year, and for spending to pick up in the remaining six months. He said that the low utilisation was due to the poor financial position of the province.

Last year, the Punjab government utilised only Rs150 billion of the Rs220 billion ADP presented for 2011-12.

In Lahore in 2012-13, apart from the spending on the Metro Bus Service, the Punjab government has spent Rs1.65 billion on the Kalma Chowk underpasses and Rs540 million on the Model Town underpass. Another Rs1 billion came out of the provincial kitty for the purchase of 100 buses, originally meant to be plied on the MBS corridor, but later given to girls colleges.
Other notable expenses included Rs4 billion for the procurement of 100,000 laptops, which are being handed out to students who perform well in exams. The Energy Department spent Rs2.5 billion on solar lamps, being handed out to 240,000 students under the Ujala programme.

Around Rs1.447 billion has been spent on the Pirwadhai Mor underpass and flyover project.

Another Rs1.25 billion has been spent on the Abdullahpur underpasses in Faisalabad, which involved the construction of three underpasses beneath the Tariqabad bridge leading to Chak Jhumra Road.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3rd, 2013.

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Oh please. Don't bring in Karachi here. Karachi had a future until Mustafa kamal was here. Now The city is in death throes. The reasons are political and ethnic. Karachi's woes cannot be compared with any other city of Pakistan.

Karachi is mini Pakistan with problems of Pakistan magnified.

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Yes, he does not have right to work for the betterment of people, he should immediately replaced with Sindh or Balochistan CM :)

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Zardari picked worst possible people on purpose otherwise Gilani, Raja Ashraf, Rehman Malik etc weren't really the best brains in PPP. No doubt S Sharif is better than these people but if you compare Sharifs with these people then we have no hope left.

Tell anyone in developed world that best solution to tackle energy crisis in a country where power outages can last 18 hours a day is to hand them solar lamps and they will understand why we are considered 3rd world country (Even 3rd world countries wouldn't want us in that list anymore).

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Re: Punjab Government’s misplaced priorities

Maybe that’s why PMLN popularity is rising, i think they should continue to do whatever they are doing. IK blunder upon blunder is the ultimate reason for his demise.

PML-N tops popularity chart for elections 2013: Survey - geo.tv

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

I know them to the core, I grew up in Lahore and supported and voted for them twice into power! but I am not ready to be enslaved by Sharif family for life! While SS thuggery style may be liked by laymen, thats not the attitude that takes nations ahead, though shahbaz sharif is far better than nawaz! They treat people as slaves and low life, try meeting them in person, they behave like kings! grab power,
buying media will work to some extent not completely ;)

billions loans and dodgy deals, moved assets abroad! SS keep 18 ministries with him, just one man show as he has not enough family members in the assembly or trust other members. his macho style goes back to his administration of Ittefaq (thanks to politics they dont need industries to amass billions).

In last 5 years and before, he acted like good mayor or Lahore, and nothing else thats where he has developed infrastructure and roads that even pass near to official residences spread all over Lahore.

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

I think that is the scariest part. Having a PMLN govt will be like having an LeJ/SSP govt.
People don't realize what kind of monsters PMLN is working with, only to grab power. They have electoral alliance with SSP, which is a banned organization and parent organization of LeJ.

May God save us from this khariji-supporter Saudi party.

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Im no fan of PML but an efficient transport system is essential for any growing economy. Efficient mobility makes it easier for large cities to utilize manpower. Lahore is the 2nd biggest city in the country, so to invest in Lahore makes sense as the growth of the city will seep out into the broader economy over time.

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Re: Punjab Government's misplaced priorities

Before exile to Saudia, Nawaz Sharif had launched an operation against SSP which decimated its cadre. But after his return the way his party has dealt with ASWJ, could be do to some tacit understanding between him and his benefactors (Saudia).