Senate panel says centre spent Rs5tr on devolved subjects

ISLAMABAD: A Senate sub-committee said on Tuesday the federal government had spent more than Rs5 trillion on devolved provincial subjects and on ministries created for Council of Common Interests matters, expenditure its chair described as a violation of the Constitution.

Senator Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro, who chaired the Sub-Committee on Devolution in Islamabad, said the figure came from the Auditor General of Pakistan's report. In dollars, he said, it comes to more than $18 billion, against about $15 billion Pakistan received from the IMF over the last 15 years.

Ghumro said federal expenditure is running at about Rs19 trillion while total tax and non-tax revenue is about Rs20 trillion, and that borrowing has reached $135 billion. Had the 18th Amendment been implemented and CCI matters handed to the CCI's permanent secretariat as Article 154 envisages, he said, the country would not have needed IMF assistance. He argued that Article 154 read with Article 97 places executive authority over Part II of the Federal Legislative List with the CCI rather than the federal cabinet, and that the Constitution does not oblige the centre to provide health, education, housing, sanitation or water.

The committee directed the CCI and the Cabinet Division to send a fresh note to the Prime Minister for abolishing 24 ministries and institutions dealing with provincial and CCI subjects. Both had already sent summaries, and Ghumro said the Prime Minister had not replied. Minute Mirror reported that he also questioned how the Finance Ministry, the Auditor General and the Accountant General had approved the spending, and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

On federal job quotas, the Establishment Division told the committee that 5,000 posts for Balochistan had been advertised under Article 38(g). Ghumro said Balochistan's shortfall was more than 30,000 jobs and Sindh's more than 80,000, and asked for the vacancies to be advertised.

The committee expressed displeasure over the Information Ministry's failure to submit a report. The ministry had asked for a month to devolve print media organisations at the federal level and to work out a mechanism for giving broadcasting rights to the provinces under Article 159. It was given 15 days to settle the issues and report compliance, Business Recorder reported.

The Cabinet Division's secretary and officials from the Auditor General's office, the Establishment Division and the Finance Division attended the meeting.