ISLAMABAD, June 24, 2013: Twenty-one members took part in general discussion on budget during the fourth sitting of the Sindh Assembly’s ongoing third session on Monday. The House also adopted three resolutions – two unanimously and one with a majority vote.

Starting two hours late, the sitting lasted six hours. As many as 85 members were present at the outset while 55 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 89 members were present at one point of sitting.

Eight PPPP members, seven MQM, three PMLN, two PMLF and one PTI member took part in the budget debate. The discussed the budget for three hours and 53 minutes.

The House adopted an MQM sponsored resolution condemning the murder of a sitting MPA and his son. Moved by PPPP members, another resolution was unanimously adopted to pay tribute to late former Prime Minister on her 60^th birthday. Adopted through majority vote, the third resolution called upon the Sindh government to approach the federal government to withdraw an amendment proposed in the Finance Bill to amend the definition of Sales Tax of Services.

Following are some key observations of the proceedings:

Members’ Participation in House Proceedings

• The Sindh Assembly met for six hours. The House took a break of an hour and 15 minutes.
• The sitting started at 1130 hours against the scheduled starting time of 0930 hours, witnessing a delay of two hours.
• The Speaker chaired the entire sitting. The Deputy Speaker was also present and attended the proceedings for four hours.
• A total of 85 members were present at the outset while 55 were there at the time of adjournment. A maximum of 89 members were present at one point of sitting.
• The Chief Minister attended the sitting for an hour and 25 minutes while the Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for four hours and 32 minutes.
• Six minority members attended the sitting.
  

Representation and Responsiveness

• Twenty-one MPAs – eight of PPPP, seven of MQM, three of PMLN, two of PMLF and one PTI member – took part in the budget debate. The discussed the budget for three hours and 53 minutes.
  

Output

• The House adopted three resolutions; two unanimously while one with a majority vote. All these resolutions were jointly tabled.
• The House adopted an MQM sponsored resolution condemning the murder of a sitting MPA and his son. Moved by PPPP members, another resolution was unanimously adopted to pay tribute to late former Prime Minister on her 60^th birthday. Adopted through majority vote, the third resolution called upon the Sindh government to approach the federal government to withdraw an amendment proposed in the Finance Bill to amend the definition of Sales Tax of Services.
  

Order and Institutionalization

• No protest, walkout or boycott observed during the sitting.
• No point of order raised during the sitting.
  

Transparency

• List of Business (agenda) was available to the legislators, observers and others.
• Information of members’ attendance was available 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