People of Pakistan have welcomed government’s plans and intentions to improve national economy and bring a positive change in people’s lives. Government’s commitment to ensure financial transparency and make best use of the available resources has been well received by the common people.
Economic Literacy and Budget Accountability for Governance (ELBAG) is an international level knowledge based mobilization process consisting of community groups, social movements, civil society organizations, activists, experts and concerned citizens to advocate peoples’ participation in financial decision making. Pakistan chapter of ELBAG has prepared the following Charter of Demands through a consultative process across the country for the forthcoming budgetary session in the Parliament.
Budget Making Process
- Parliamentarians should be more closely involved in the budget planning process through committees, debates and monitoring/oversight. Parliament and/or parliamentary committees should be given adequate time to analyze the budgetary proposal in detail until its presentation in the National Assembly.
- Budget proposals should be discussed in the parliamentary committees where legislators having relevant interests and/or expertise should be able to assess past year performance of different ministries/ departments and make recommendations for new budgetary allocations.
- Political parties (in government or opposition) should work together to address concerns regarding defence and development expenditures and ensure pro-people budgetary allocations.
- Political parties should prepare a comprehensive strategy to interact with ministries and finance department during budgetary discussions. The strategy should focus on priority areas/issues which need to be highlighted and members having relevant expertise should be nominated to talk about these issues.
- Parliamentary committees, political parties and parliamentarians should put in place mechanisms to receive feedback from citizens and civil society groups; and incorporate them in their Parliamentary discussions.
- Stake holders’ meeting should be held during October to December before the Budget is finalized by the Finance department.
- Multiple criteria should be introduced for the NFC Award for distribution among the provinces. Provinces’ overall share should be increased as committed by the ruling political leadership.
- Parliament should have powers to discuss and debate over defense budget and exercise authority to make necessary modification.
- Legal and administrative steps should be taken to ensure access of common people to the budget draft. Budget copies should be made public as priced publication. Annual Budget Calendar should be announced with key dates clearly mentioned.
- Use of discretionary powers of the executive with regard to modifications in the budget should be regulated.
Public Sector Development Program
- Mega projects under Public Sector Development Programme are initiated under political considerations without in-depth review of their merits and demerits Thal Canal and a number of other projects are few examples. To address this problem, all mega projects should be initiated through proper procedural framework with Parliament having authority to discuss, approve or disapprove them.
Micro and Macro Level Economic Policies
- There is a strong need to critically review all the macro economic policies-fiscal, monetary and industrial with an aim to make them more people friendly and pro-poor. Tight monetary policy should be put in place to restrict excessive money supply, increase interest rate and check rising inflation.
- Growth policies must offer proportionally greater benefits to the poor people and equitable growth benefits with economic justice that would reduce poverty and inequality.
- Tax Incidence for poor people should be reduced while more taxes should be levied on the rich people. Pro-poor redistribution policies should be designed. The quantum of indirect taxes should be reduced and replaced with direct taxes.
- Defence and non-development expenditure should be reduced; external loans should be brought down while budgetary allocations on social, human and physical infrastructure should be increased.
- External loans/agreements should be subject to parliamentary discussion and debate, instead of being under the authoritarian powers of a select few.
- Clear and gender friendly policy and institutional framework should be established for effective public spending.
- Subsidies to inefficient public sector departments including WAPDA and other corporations should be reduced and redirected towards the poor people especially women and children.
- Increase in wages should be linked with rise in the inflation rate. Minimum wage should be increased to Rs. 8,000 and working conditions should be improved.
- Government should ensure that social, economic and cultural rights of the people are protected. Sacking and downsizing of workers in the name of privatization should be checked.
- Provinces should be given economic autonomy and sufficient economic resources for local development.
- No mega project should be initiated in any province without consultation with the local people. Foreign investment and mega development projects should not be allowed to engulf people’s basic rights.
Education
- Government should recognize provision of quality education as state obligation for all citizens at all levels.
- To achieve the objective of 100% literacy rate by 2015, budgetary allocations for education sector should be doubled as the first step with regular annual increase to meet 10% of GDP by year 2015. This would help us meet Millennium Development Goals in the education sector.
- Teachers training institutions in Pakistan should have a permanent budget line for teachers’ training.
- The allocation of budget must be prioritized, placing more emphasis on improving education quality including teachers training, curriculum development, supervision, monitoring and other areas as suggested in stake holders’ meetings.
- Special budgetary allocations should be made for improving girls’ education from primary to secondary, high school and college level.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for establishing libraries in all primary schools and for strengthening and streamlining School Management Committees.
- Special budgetary allocations should be made for school buildings, sports and other co-curricular activities, furniture, school health and hygiene programme, exposure visits, books, uniforms and other necessary materials for the students.
- Special budgetary allocations should be made for research in education sector.
- Financial resources should be allocated for increasing the number of post graduate institutions in remote areas/ districts and for increasing and improving human resources especially skilled professionals in the education sector.
Information Technology
- Budgetary allocations should be made for establishing and improving computer labs in schools and colleges and for conducting teachers’ computer literacy trainings. Computer lab should be established in all primary schools.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for purchasing computers and providing internet facilities in all schools and colleges.
Health
- The budgetary allocations for health should be increased from 0.57 % to at least 2% of GDP. Adequate funds should be allocated to reduce maternal mortality rate up to 200 per 10,000 live births by 2011 as envisaged in the National Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) Programme.
- Financial resources should be allocated to make all Tahsil / Taluka / Town level Basic Health Units functional and fully equipped with Medical facilities, trained staff and disease screening equipment. Budgetary allocations should be made for including Health education in curriculum at all levels.
- Budgetary allocations should be made to provide mobile dispensaries to remote areas and establish at least one Basic Health Centre/ Rural Health Centre in every Union Council.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for free vaccination for Hepatitis A, B & C at mass level.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for alternative traditional medicine including homeopathy etc. and related research.
Drinking Water
- Budgetary allocations should be made for ensuring installation of water filter plants at Union Council level.
- Budgetary allocations should be made to ensure proper functioning of existing water testing laboratories while establishing new ones.
- Policy and budgetary measures should be taken to ensure sustainable water supply to all areas including rural and drought affected areas.
Industry
- Industrial development should be carried out while completely ensuring environmental safety and protection of rights and privileges of the local communities.
- Policy and budgetary measures should be taken in favour of labour intensive small industries
- Industries should focus on local products while environmentally hazardous industries should be discouraged
- Budgetary allocations should be made for establishing industrial zones in areas with abundant natural resources
Natural Resources
- local communities’ right over the natural resources should be accepted and clear policies should be prepared in this regard
- Allocations should be made in the budget for royalties on the exploitation of the natural resources at provincial and district level.
- Allocations should be made in the budget for encouraging the use of alternative energy sources [coal, wind, biogas and solar energy]
- Funds should be allocated in the budget for the welfare of workers engaged in exploration of natural resources including coal.
- Funds should be allocated for establishing small environment friendly Industrial zones in remote areas.
- The outstanding amount of royalties of the natural resources against the Federal Government should be paid to the respective areas/ provinces
Agriculture
- Allocations should be made in the budget for providing interest free loans to small farmers and all the previous agriculture loans on small farmers should be waived off.
- Budgetary allocations should be made to ensure accessibility of small farmers to electricity (for use in agriculture)
- Allocations should be made for establishing Research and Extension Centres for educating and encouraging small farmers to grow export quality crops
- Allocations should be made for subsidizing purchase of agriculture instruments for small farmers and budgetary packages should be announced for reduction in fertilizer prices.
- Sufficient allocations should be made for establishing agriculture markets with cold storage and other related facilities
- Budgetary and economic policies should be developed to minimise role and control of IFIs.
- Agriculture taxes should be reviewed and reduced to lessen small farmers’ economic burden. The accumulated agriculture tax should be used for the welfare of small growers
- A budgetary package should be announced for distribution of government land among the landless Haris. Related technological and financial support should also be provided.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for the rehabilitation of bonded Haris who have recently been freed with the efforts of human rights organizations.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for crop insurance and projects to eradicate water logging and salinity.
- Financial resources should be allocated for encouraging local organic productions and their marketing, and growers should be given facilities and technical support for preserving the traditional seed.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for construction of small dams for improving water availability.
- Corporate farming should be discouraged and government lands should be divided among the landless farmers. Related support and facilities should be provided for developing these lands.
Irrigation
- Allocations should be made for initiating programmes for preventing water losses and fair distribution of water at all levels.
- Dams should be constructed in the arid zones of the country after addressing issues of displacement, environmental degradation, silting etc.
- Small farmers should be provided subsidies on diesel and petrol and traditional irrigation systems of Khushkaba, Sailaba and Karez irrigation should be protected and improved
Livestock
- Support Programmes should be initiated for livestock–growers to improve grazing lands and special funds should be allocated for improving livestock grazing areas
- A sustainable system should be developed to improve livestock breeding and livestock disease prevention.
- Grazing grounds should be allocated for rearing of livestock by poor people. They should be protected against illegal take-overs by the influential people.
Environment
- Budgetary allocations should be made for introducing alternative energy resources to protect environment.
- Budgetary and policy measures should be taken to streamline Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] of mega projects.
- Budgetary allocations should be made for increasing forestry from 4.8% to 25% through Participatory Forest Management.
- Budgetary and policy steps should be taken to protect environment and livelihood of Indus River, Indus Delta and Indus River banks.
ECONOMIC LITERACY & BUDGET ADVOCACY FOR GOVERNANCE
Email: elbag.pakistan@gmail.com |
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