Nov 08 , 2015
News
Delay in fund release by federal govt annoys CM Sindh
KARACHI: Lashing out at Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Saturday said despite promises of providing Rs12 billion package for the province, not even a single penny has been released as yet.
Speaking at a ceremony here, Shah said, “prime minister arrives every month to encourage us, we are grateful to him for that but fact of the matter is we don’t have bullet-proof vehicles and jackets to fight terrorists”.
The chief minister said that 400 officials in Sindh have sacrificed their lives in the ongoing operations against criminals and terrorists.
Reacting to grievances expressed by CM Shah, PM’s special assistant Musadik Malik told Geo News that the premier was ready to fulfil all his promises for the progress of Sindh.
Citing Metro Bus and Water projects, he said all these projects were to be launched by the Sindh government in collaboration with Islamabad. “However, nothing tangible has come from the provincial government as yet,” he added.
Malik said funds would only be released when there was something substantial presented regarding the projects so they can be moved towards implementation.
The PM’s spokesman went on to say that sovereign guarantees by Sindh government, needed to initiate the Thar Coal Power project, were also not provided by the PPP government despite being in power for the second time in a row.
He said since it was a provincial project that is why the sovereign guarantees should come from the province also.
“After the passage of 18th amendment, all funds go to provincial governments except 68 per cent to be precise,” Malik remarked.
The prime minister’s assistant said that the federal government’s focus was towards development projects in Sindh.
When reminded about CM Sindh’s specific grievances regarding Rs12 billion package for anti-terrorism efforts, he said he did not hear everything the former had said, adding that he was not aware about any such promise made by the premier.
On insistence, Malik said since he was not at his office that is why he cannot be sure. However, he added that after the 18th amendment, development and security expenditures were the responsibility of the provinces.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk