ISLAMABAD, June 17, 2013: The Chief Minister of Sindh presented the provincial budget 2013-14 in the first sitting of the third session on Monday.  Starting 60 minutes late, the sitting witnessed relatively better attendance of members. The budget speech attracted 65% of the total membership in the House.

However, the Leader of the Opposition along with the parliamentary leader PMLN did not attend the sitting.

Following are some key observations of the parliamentary business:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for two hours and 20 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1600 hours against the scheduled starting time of 1500 hours, witnessing a delay of 60 minutes.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Deputy Speaker was also present.
• Only the parliamentary leaders of PTI and PMLF attended the sitting.
• Ninety-nine Members (59% of the total membership – 168) were present at the outset while 105 (62%) were there at the adjournment.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for two hours and 20 minutes.

Representation and Responsiveness

• The Chief Minister of Sindh presented the provincial budget of Sindh. He spoke for an hour and 36 minutes.

Output

• The Annual Budget Statement was presented to the House.

Order and Institutionalization

• No Points of Order were raised during the sitting.

Transparency

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

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