PILDAT held a briefing session in Islamabad on Tuesday to help lawmakers learn more about how the budget works.
The topic of the meeting, “Empowering Parliamentarians for Effective Budgetary Oversight,” gave people a chance to talk about and think about important changes that could make Pakistan’s parliamentary budget process better.
Senators and members of the National Assembly (MNAs) agreed with PILDAT that the number of days for budget deliberation should be increased. They said that the current number of days wasn’t enough time to properly study all the budget papers.
The members also stressed how important it was to look at the budget in terms of gender and how important it was for the public to be able to see tracking and progress reports on the budget.
Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah led PILDAT’s briefing and stressed how important it is for parliament to keep an eye on things to make sure there is economic responsibility and accountability.
He stressed the importance of an open and inclusive budget process that focuses on both allocating funds and making sure they are used for their original purposes.
He said that executive dominance should be balanced by giving parliamentary committees more power, checking the budget before and after it’s passed, and changing Article 84 of the Constitution of Pakistan, as PILDAT had proposed.
Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, shared his thoughts and said he agreed with PILDAT’s suggestions for making changes to the budget. He stressed how important it was to have standing groups with power and
Getting bureaucratic help in different government departments and offices to work more efficiently.
Overall, lawmakers felt a sense of urgency and a strong desire to make good changes to Pakistan’s budgeting processes.
