ISLAMABAD, June 11, 2012: The Provincial Minister for Finance presented the budget in an hour and 35 minutes speech in the third sitting of the Sindh Assembly’s 36^th session on Monday.  

Starting an hour and eight minutes behind schedule, the sitting met for an hour and 57 minutes on Monday.

Seventy-nine legislators (48% of 166) were present at the start while 147 (87%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.

The Chief Minister attended the sitting for an hour and 48 minutes. All the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting. The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting as the Speaker was not present.

The following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for an hour and 57 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1708 hours instead of the scheduled starting time of 1600 hours. The proceedings were delayed by an hour and eight minutes.
• The Deputy Speaker chaired the sitting. The Speaker was not present.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting.
• All the parliamentary leaders attended the sitting.
• Seventy-nine legislators (48% of 166) were present at the start while 147 (87%) were there when the sitting was adjourned.
• Nine minority Members were present during the proceedings.

 Representation and Responsiveness

• The Provincial Minister for Finance presented the budget in an hour and 35 minutes speech.

 Output

• As the Finance Minister presented the budget no other agenda appeared on the Agenda.

 Order and Institutionalization

• No Points of Order was raised during the sitting.

 Transparency

• Orders of the Day were available to legislators, observers and others.
• Information about Members’ attendance was unavailable to observers and the public.

 The Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN