Xeric
RETIRED THINK TANK
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- Mar 31, 2008
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http://www.dawn.com/2011/06/03/finance-us-pakistan-just-don’t-joke.html
Finance us Pakistan, just don’t joke
DAWN.COM
Dawn.com spent a few minutes each, with six random people spotted in the streets of Karachi and asked them nine questions pertaining to the announcement of Pakistan’s Budget for the Financial Year 2011-2012 later today (June 3).
Q1. In what way do you think will the new federal budget impact the common man’s life? Or does it not matter at all?
Q2. What should this budget tackle first and foremost?
Q3. What section needs the biggest increase of fund allocation?
Q4. Should the funds allocated towards the defence budget be decreased?
Q5. What effect will the budget have on inflation?
Q6. In what way can the budget help the private sector?
Q7. What can be done to alleviate poverty?
Q8. What is your opinion on General Sales Tax (GST)?
Q9. Should we continue taking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?
– Interviews by Nadir Siddiqui and photos by Hussain Afzal/Dawn.com
Answers:
A petrol pump manager:
1. It will affect President Zardari! The effects of the previous budgets leave us with no hope from this one.
2. Raise the minimum wage.
3. Healthcare.
4. Increase the defense budget, at least they are more responsible and less corrupt than the government officials, I’d rather see them receive the money than Ahmed Mukhtar or Ijaz Butt.
5. Inflation will increase, the government will use us to support its own inefficient and failing organizations like Pakistan Railways and PIA.
6. I can’t say I will have an informed opinion on the private sector. I do think that the burden of mafias and “Bhatta” should be removed from small enterprises and merchants.
7. Make the cabinet smaller to save money and expenditure.
8. GST is not good and we should do away with it. We need subsidies back for petrol and gas. The government should at least reduce its own cut from these goods to reduce prices.
9. Not really something I think the public can decide, but I definitely think we should avoid the IMF loans.
-----
A man at a bus stop who works in the oil industry:
1. There are no benefits to us from budgets, only losses: prices are climbing but salaries stay the same. Expenses are increasing, and inflation is rising. In addition to that the electricity and water problem is not addressed at all. Things are just going to get worse.
3. Education.
4. No use of increasing the defense budget, they just eat the money while people are dying and all kinds of attacks take place within our cities.
5. Inflation will continue to rise, a price reduction of one or two rupees makes no difference when it only affects one part of a sector and not the others.
----
A rickshaw driver:
1. It’s just going to drain out the remaining life from us. To expect something good from this budget is akin to daydreaming – it's not going to happen!
2. Law and order/Crime.
4. Yes, it should be reduced, it is too much.
5. The prices will continue to rise, this government will continue to take advantage of us.
8. There should be relief in prices of consumer products, if they reduce GST then this will help most people to buy everyday goods.
---
A Sindh Revenue Board employee:
1. Not substantially – It all depends on how well it is implemented, I’d say 50/50.
2. The public sector and the internal conditions of the economy need to be improved, we need to continue the privatization that Pervez Musharraf began in 2005 which was a good policy. However the government should retain control of strategic industries like Steel Mills and healthcare.
3. Healthcare.
4. Defense is the most important sector, plus it’s better to give money to the military rather than to politicians who will line their own pockets with it.
7. The allocation should be correct, and corruption must be reduced to prevent loss of money and resources.
8. I actually am working for GST on services. The problem is that GST has a bad track record, there is a shortfall in collection and accountability. I don’t think GST should be reduced.
9. I think the government is dealing with trying to pay the loans but they are in enormous debt, so it will take time. Improving the public sector and trying to reduce the fiscal deficit is vital to solving this problem Most of all we must not take more IMF loans!
----
A policeman at a checkpoint:
1. Inflation is going up while our salaries remain the same. I don’t think this budget will make any difference.
(Before we could ask any further questions, one of the policeman’s colleagues got nervous seeing our camera and asked us to leave – he was under the impression that we were secretly doing a story to highlight their incompetence.)
-----
A newspaper hawker:
1. The budget will do nothing at all; rates are climbing for all goods while wages stay the same. The budget will not make any difference; it will just break our backs. If the government could gauge how much money each person had, they would take the very clothes off our backs.
Finance us Pakistan, just don’t joke
DAWN.COM
Dawn.com spent a few minutes each, with six random people spotted in the streets of Karachi and asked them nine questions pertaining to the announcement of Pakistan’s Budget for the Financial Year 2011-2012 later today (June 3).
Q1. In what way do you think will the new federal budget impact the common man’s life? Or does it not matter at all?
Q2. What should this budget tackle first and foremost?
Q3. What section needs the biggest increase of fund allocation?
Q4. Should the funds allocated towards the defence budget be decreased?
Q5. What effect will the budget have on inflation?
Q6. In what way can the budget help the private sector?
Q7. What can be done to alleviate poverty?
Q8. What is your opinion on General Sales Tax (GST)?
Q9. Should we continue taking loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)?
– Interviews by Nadir Siddiqui and photos by Hussain Afzal/Dawn.com
Answers:
A petrol pump manager:
1. It will affect President Zardari! The effects of the previous budgets leave us with no hope from this one.
2. Raise the minimum wage.
3. Healthcare.
4. Increase the defense budget, at least they are more responsible and less corrupt than the government officials, I’d rather see them receive the money than Ahmed Mukhtar or Ijaz Butt.
5. Inflation will increase, the government will use us to support its own inefficient and failing organizations like Pakistan Railways and PIA.
6. I can’t say I will have an informed opinion on the private sector. I do think that the burden of mafias and “Bhatta” should be removed from small enterprises and merchants.
7. Make the cabinet smaller to save money and expenditure.
8. GST is not good and we should do away with it. We need subsidies back for petrol and gas. The government should at least reduce its own cut from these goods to reduce prices.
9. Not really something I think the public can decide, but I definitely think we should avoid the IMF loans.
-----
A man at a bus stop who works in the oil industry:
1. There are no benefits to us from budgets, only losses: prices are climbing but salaries stay the same. Expenses are increasing, and inflation is rising. In addition to that the electricity and water problem is not addressed at all. Things are just going to get worse.
3. Education.
4. No use of increasing the defense budget, they just eat the money while people are dying and all kinds of attacks take place within our cities.
5. Inflation will continue to rise, a price reduction of one or two rupees makes no difference when it only affects one part of a sector and not the others.
----
A rickshaw driver:
1. It’s just going to drain out the remaining life from us. To expect something good from this budget is akin to daydreaming – it's not going to happen!
2. Law and order/Crime.
4. Yes, it should be reduced, it is too much.
5. The prices will continue to rise, this government will continue to take advantage of us.
8. There should be relief in prices of consumer products, if they reduce GST then this will help most people to buy everyday goods.
---
A Sindh Revenue Board employee:
1. Not substantially – It all depends on how well it is implemented, I’d say 50/50.
2. The public sector and the internal conditions of the economy need to be improved, we need to continue the privatization that Pervez Musharraf began in 2005 which was a good policy. However the government should retain control of strategic industries like Steel Mills and healthcare.
3. Healthcare.
4. Defense is the most important sector, plus it’s better to give money to the military rather than to politicians who will line their own pockets with it.
7. The allocation should be correct, and corruption must be reduced to prevent loss of money and resources.
8. I actually am working for GST on services. The problem is that GST has a bad track record, there is a shortfall in collection and accountability. I don’t think GST should be reduced.
9. I think the government is dealing with trying to pay the loans but they are in enormous debt, so it will take time. Improving the public sector and trying to reduce the fiscal deficit is vital to solving this problem Most of all we must not take more IMF loans!
----
A policeman at a checkpoint:
1. Inflation is going up while our salaries remain the same. I don’t think this budget will make any difference.
(Before we could ask any further questions, one of the policeman’s colleagues got nervous seeing our camera and asked us to leave – he was under the impression that we were secretly doing a story to highlight their incompetence.)
-----
A newspaper hawker:
1. The budget will do nothing at all; rates are climbing for all goods while wages stay the same. The budget will not make any difference; it will just break our backs. If the government could gauge how much money each person had, they would take the very clothes off our backs.
