Documents expose Rs301b reckless spending by Buzdar government

The austerity sham of Usman Buzdar government has been unearthed as the new provincial government braces to approve the colossal overspending of Rs310 billion by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Punjab government, SAMAA TV reported.

Official documents reveal that the former chief minister spent an amount of Rs310 billion in excess of the approved budget and this now has to be approved through a supplementary grant.

Spending under supplementary grants is subject to the approval and absolute discretion of the highest provincial government official and no prior approvals are required from the cabinet or assembly members. However, they are put to a vote and approved by the provincial assembly at the end of a fiscal year.

Utilizing this discretionary power, Buzdar approved hefty grants to appease his voters.

Documents available with SAMAA TV show that the former CM approved an additional development budget of Rs107 billion to appease voters despite obvious financial constraints and calls for austerity.

Buzdar also expended an extra Rs100 million to beef up the Governor House’s security while a grant worth Rs15.38 billion (supra-approved budget) was also made available for the police department.

The government spent Rs415 million for security operations in the Kaccha area to get rid of malicious elements.

For the Ramadan Bazaars advertisements, the former CM signed off an Rs200 million supplementary grant.

On the international front, the Buzdar government spent a total of Rs282.4 million to participate in Dubai Expo, though the MoUs signed during the exhibition never materialized, sources said.

The former chief minister also spent on his own an additional Rs57 billion for road infrastructure development projects, including the construction of bridges, and Rs83 billion to procure wheat and sugar without discussing the spending with the cabinet or provincial assembly.