CHAIRMAN Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who made a mark during his tenure as Foreign Minister of the country, exhaustively demonstrated his leadership qualities when he gave a convincing presentation at the Presidency on Thursday showcasing all-round progress the province of Sindh has achieved under party rule since 2008.
To admiration of a galaxy of participants of the event including Acting President Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, members of the Sindh cabinet, parliamentarians, representatives of business community, diplomats and media persons Bilawal backed his points with facts and figures to highlight that Sindh has started shining and fate of its people will change in not too distant future.
Bilawal and President Asif Ali Zardari surely deserve credit for their active interest in launching and implementation of people-centric policies, which is a major factor in growing popularity of the party in the province and this fact was also underlined by PPP leader when he pointed out that the party received a larger mandate in every subsequent provincial election since 2008. Generally, the PPP has a reputation of a pro-civil servants party as it cared much for their welfare during its rule yet presentation also confirmed that the party is investing much on uplift of the common man and marginalised segments of the society. His presentation, among others, covered progress in healthcare, education, poverty alleviation, infrastructure, industry, agriculture and revenue generation and also contained tangible proposals on how to ensure a meaningful increase in tax collection to help the country stand on its own feet financially and economically.
The briefing on provincial governance referred to portrayal of Sindh as a “glass half empty” province, but rightly maintained that PPP-led government had steadily strengthened institutions and expanded service delivery as is also acknowledged by its people. Social sector achievements were hallmark of progress achieved by Sindh under active guidance of Bilawal, who makes conscientious efforts to remain in contact with people at grass-roots to have first-hand knowledge of their plight and needs. It was in line with this approach that the party focused on health, education and poverty alleviation and invested heavily to make a difference. This is evident from the fact that provincial government increased health sector allocations from 2.9% of provincial budget in 2008 to nearly 10% at present. Expansion and improvement of health facilities have not only contributed a lot in dramatically improving the service delivery to satisfaction of the masses but also attracted global recognition. As regards education sector, number of public sector universities in Sindh rose from 10 in 2008 to 30 today, along with 18 additional university campuses across the province.
Bilawal proudly pointed out that Sindh Rural Support Organisation (SRSO) programme had helped lift 1.4 million women out of poverty through soft loans, with a recovery rate of 98%. The Sindh Government launched a massive programme to rebuild 2.1 million houses destroyed in devastating floods of 2022 and so far 75,000 climate-resistant homes have been constructed, creating nearly one million jobs besides giving much-needed support to local industry and businesses. Similarly, schemes like Benazir Hari Card, seed distribution and improvement of canals have contributed a lot in increasing agricultural productivity in the province. The measures taken by provincial government to encourage generation of wind energy and solarisation are also widely being appreciated by people of Sindh. The Sindh Revenue Board also excelled by increasing on an average 19% in tax collection. Bilawal Bhutto proposed devolving the collection of sales tax on goods to provinces, arguing this could help bridge federal fiscal gap while strengthening economic self-sufficiency. The suggestion deserves proper consideration.
