Sindh Assembly Concludes General Discussion on Budget

ISLAMABAD, June 25, 2016: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh concluded the general discussion on Provincial Budget for Financial Year 2016-17 on Saturday during 10th sitting of its 25th session, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

Following are some key observations of the House proceeding:

Members’ Participation

  • The Sindh Assembly met for four hours and 40 minutes.
  • The sitting started at 1253 hours against the scheduled time of 1200 hours.
  • The Speaker chaired the sitting for an hour and ten minutes while rest of the proceeding was chaired by the Deputy Speaker.
  • The Chief Minister was present for four hours and 40 minutes.
  • The Opposition Leader attended the sitting for three hours and 47 minutes.
  • The Finance Minister attended the entire sitting.
  • Forty-eight lawmakers (29%) were present at the start and 86 (52%) at the end of the sitting.
  • The Parliamentary Leaders of PPPP, MQM, PML-F, PML-N and PTI were present.
  • Seven minority members were present.

Output

  • The House discussed Supplementary Budget Statement for Year 2015-16 and approved one out of 42 Demands for Grants. All 44 Cut Motion moved by MQM lawmakers were rejected.

Representation and Responsiveness

  • The Chief Minister concluded general discussion on the Provincial Budget for Fiscal Year 2016-2017 consuming two hours and 49 minutes of the proceeding.
  • The House held discussion for one hour on the charged expenditures. Two members including the Finance Minister spoke on it.

Order and Institutionalization

  • Two Points Of Order consumed two minutes of the proceeding.

Transparency

  • ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
  • The attendance of lawmakers was available to observers and media.

This daily factsheet is based on direct observation of the Sindh Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) – a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted.