Address to the Nation
Mohtarama
Benazir Bhutto
Prime Minister
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Islamabad
June 8, 1994
My brothers and
sisters, Assalam-o-Alaikum!
Today, I am
addressing you on a subject which is extremely
important for us. It is the economy of the
country. What were the economic conditions that
have been inherited by the People's Government?
What has been the performance of the People's
Government during the last eight months? And
what steps are being taken in future for the
economic progress?
Since the advent
of Independence, dictatorship and democracy have
been engaged in continuous struggle against each
other. However, due to prolonged dictatorial
rule, the country has not been able to achieve
the desired progress in economic field. Ever
since Independence our movements for restoration
of democracy have continued unabated. We are
extremely grateful to God that having been able
to create political stability in the country we
are now in a position to formulate such plans
which will not only ensure complete independence
for Pakistan but will also help in freeing the
people from poverty, exploitation and ill
health. To achieve this objective we have
prepared a well-conceived and comprehensive
plan. Together with political stability we also
want to create economic stability and Insha-Allah
with the help of our prayers we shall be able to
establish economic stability in the country.
Even slightest negligence on our part can result
in creating highly explosive economic
conditions. We are determined to forestall
ruination at all costs. People are fed up with
political polarization. They want to have a
positive programme for banishing un-employment
and dearness. This is what they expect of their
Government. Every patriotic citizen wishes to
have economic stability in the country so that
private sector is able to demonstrate its
capabilities.
We want the
Government to protect interests of the weaker
segments of our society and save them from
exploitation. Keeping in view expectations of
the people, the Government is paying greater
attention to the betterment of economic
conditions.
The prevalent
ills and weaknesses of our economy cannot be
eradicated through interim and temporary
measures. We need far- reaching steps and
long-term planning. In the past the financial
management of the Government was mishandled
which caused enormous loss to the country. We
had reached a stage where salaries of the
government servants were paid after seeking
loans. The heavy borrowing by the Government
from Banks on high interest rate left nothing
for the private sector.
Today I am going
to speak to you about certain bitter and painful
realities. The enormous increase in national
debt is a glaring proof of economic
mismanagement. In 1981, public debt amounted to
Rs. 150 billion with a liability of Rs. 6
billion as interest, but during a period of 10
years the public debt has increased to more than
Rs. 120 billion and interest money has gone up
to Rs. 100 billion. It is indeed most
astonishing that earlier we used to spend more
on Defense of the country but today our Defense
expenditure is less than the amount paid as
interest on our borrowings. Every previous
Government has played some part in the economic
mismanagement of the country but Nawaz Sharif
Government was extremely wreck less in this
regard. It is our misfortune that a person who
claimed to change the economic life of the
people adopted such policy which completely
destabilized the basic economic structure of the
country.
During the three
years rule of Nawaz Sharif Government all the
indexes of overall economic performance like
budget deficit, balance of payment, price index
and monetary expansion were demonstrative of
economic disaster. From 1991 to 1992 and 1993
the budget deficit went up from Rs. 56 billion
to Rs. 107 billion, a two-fold increase in one
year thus raising its share in GDP from 6.5 per
cent to 8 per cent. The adverse balance of
payments also rose from 1.5 billion dollars to 3
billion dollars, yet another, increase by two
times and from 3.8 per cent to 6.3 per cent in
GDP. Prices escalated by 10 per cent and
circulation of money went up at the rate of 20
per cent per year. Sixty thousand persons were
provided taxis at the cost of national exchequer
while 13 crore people suffered from load
shedding. If the amount spent on yellow cabs was
diverted to power generation there would have
been no load- shedding in the country.
Production and employment opportunities would
have increased. And who received yellow cabs?
The matter is being investigated. You will be
sorry to know that most of the yellow cabs were
given to holders of fake identity cards, thus
they managed to take away taxi cars free of
cost. If these taxis were given to unemployed
youth to those possessing driving licenses it
could be said that although 13 crore people were
suffering from load shedding yet some young
persons have benefited from the deal. But the
reality was completely different. Taxis were
doled out free of cost on the basis of fake
identity cards deposited with the Banks and
chits written in the same hand recommending
allotment of cars to certain persons. Thus taxis
were gifted away to their favourite and were not
meant to be used as public transport. It is very
often reported in the press that yellow cabs
have been seen in Afghanistan as well as in
Iran. Obviously those who received yellow cabs
free of cost disposed them off and took away the
money. It would have been better if these taxis
were given to unemployed persons.
Projects like
Motorway, undoubtedly a 'white elephant', were
initiated merely to impress the people. Even its
feasibility report was not prepared simply
because these no imperative need for such a
project. The first and foremost requirement of a
project before its launching is preparation of
its feasibility report. The World Bank while
criticizing the construction of Motorway took
strong exception to non- preparation of P.C.I,
form and non-availability of required finances.
According to the Constitution funds provided for
communication sector have to be utilized after
taking into confidence all the four Provinces,
but in this case the constitutional requirement
was completely ignored.
A Highway Board
was established and construction of Motorway
was approved by the Board. The proposed Toll Tax
for users of : ~ e Motorway was so high that
poor people could hardly think of using t Only
those who possessed luxurious cars would have
benefited from it.
Brothers and
sisters! You may be aware of the fact that all
those projects which form part of national
economic infrastructure are constructed on
subsidized rates, that is, the loans obtained
for such projects are taken on 2 or 3 per cent
rate of interest, but the funds for Motorway
were borrowed on commercial rates. Thus, our
expenditure on communication sector which was 17
per cent increased two times and went up to 36
per cent, not because we were constructing new
roads but mainly due to payment of interest on
commercial rate. As you know Islam strictly
prohibits such interest-bearing transactions
which are aimed at pleasing a handful of people.
In order to pay enormous amount of interest on
account of this 'white elephant', funds
allocated to other Ministries were reduced. The
budgetary allocations of Ministries like
Population Welfare, Minorities Affairs,
Education and Health were drastically cut simply
to construct a Motorway. We are not against the
construction of Motorway but priority should be
given to providing educational facilities,
medical care and other basic needs to the
people, control price escalation and banish
un-employment.
The day is not
far off when, Inshallah, we shall be able to
construct Motorway in Pakistan but premature
undertaking of such a project would have
weakened our economy and adversely affected the
poor, the workers, the laborers and the
peasants. Obviously, it was an ill-conceived
plan, however there might have been some other
plan behind this project which I will prefer not
to talk about.
We could also
indulge in wasting Rs. 40 billion for the sake
of cheap popularity, but we firmly believe that
government is a sacred trust, a unique honor and
a great responsibility. Our conscience does not
permit us to deceive the poor people and the
country as a whole. We wish to stand honorably
and successfully before the people. The projects
undertaken by us today will bear fruit for the
nation tomorrow.
Our first
priority is to achieve overall economic balance
in the country. The basic elements of our
economy like budget deficit, balance of
payments, prices index and monetary expansion
are indicative of downward trend. It has
seriously disturbed the economic balance of the
country. With the help of your prayers, our
initial measures to put the economy on even
track will be fruitful.
During the past
eight months, with a view to meeting the budget
deficit, we have borrowed only 10 billion rupees
from the Banks whereas last year 60 billion
rupees were borrowed. Lesser borrowing by the
Government provides greater opportunity to
private sector to utilize financial resources
for establishing new factories, increasing
national production and offering more jobs.
Together with that the monetary expansion has
not gone beyond 5 per cent whereas last year it
was 60 per cent. Tax recovery has shown 18 per
cent increase. We have been able to achieve this
target due to our commitment with you that the
Government will not allow taxation system to be
plagued with corruption. We have not permitted
any one to pressurize our elected
representatives for appointment of their
favourite persons in the Customs Department. Why
do certain people want to have men of their
choice? Because they do not want to pay taxes,
they wish to avoid paying taxes by having people
friendly to them. We have, however, accepted the
challenge and with the backing of your good
wishes have the courage to speak to our MNAs
that the people have elected us to provide them
a clean government and not to indulge in
underhand dealings or 'horse trading'. If you
are prepared to have an unblemished government
then we can move together, but in case you are
not ready to do so, I will have to go back to
the people because I have come from the masses,
I have a commitment with them. I will go to the
people and take them into confidence. I am
however grateful to my MNAs. All the
Parliamentarians agreed with my views and said
you were right; democracy can survive and be
respected only if we do not indulge in
bargaining and let the people have a good
government. And what does good government stand
for today is that tax recovery has increased by
18 per cent, budget deficit has come down from 8
per cent to 5.5 per cent, deficit in balance of
payments has been reduced by 30 per cent,
foreign exchange reserves which had dangerously
decreased to the level of 300 million dollars
have now gone up to two billion dollars.
During the course
of next few months price hike will be controlled
and brought down. A firm basis for achieving
this objective has already been provided. Price
escalation is a natural product of financial
indiscipline and irresponsible monetary
expansion. Now that both these elements have
significantly improved, prices will also come
down.
Taking tough
decisions for the betterment of the people is
always a great challenge for any political
government. But every nation has to face such
difficult times when it becomes imperative to
take hard measures. It was indeed a difficult
decision to bring down budgetary deficit. It was
quite easy for the Government to borrow Rs. 40
billion from the Banks and tide over the
situation, as was done by Nawaz Sharif
Government but we did not do so. Such an act
would have been contrary to the confidence
reposed in us by the people. We have been
elected by the masses to check price hike and
eradicate un-employment, power shortage,
poverty, illiteracy and diseases. We, therefore,
decided to uproot the evil. Dearness is a
cruelty which badly crushes the poor. This
cruelty is the result of deficit budgeting by
the Government. We cannot sit back and rejoice
over our initial successes. We fully realize
that in order to consolidate our successes and
ensure their continuance and stability it was
necessary to bring about some basic changes in
the management of our economy. Here are the
outlines of a stable economic programme. I wish
to place before you some important features of
this programme to enable you to assess the hope
and attraction it has for the people. The object
of this programme is to remove certain
weaknesses from the economic structure and
provide it a sound and strong basis. This is the
programme which will completely change the
economic destiny of our country and infuse new
life in its lifeless body.
The total amount
of public debts exceeds Rs. 1200 billion
whereas the amount of interest on these debts
is about Rs. 100 billion which is more than the
total expenditure on Defense. This excessive
financial burden has restricted our choices
because a major chunk of Government's income is
consumed by Defence and payment of interest. In
view of our geo-political situation, expenditure
on Defence cannot be curtailed. It is indeed a
commendable act that despite 20 per cent
increase in the Defence expenditure by India,
our Defence Forces have taken a responsible
stand and demonstrating their preference for
economic progress have not demanded a similar 20
per cent increase in Defence budget. I am
grateful to them for their co-operation with the
Government for the betterment of Pakistan and
national economy. I, however, see no reason for
not being able to bring down the amount paid on
account of interest. The People's Government is
firmly of the view that the nation must be
relieved of the heavy burden of debts at the
earliest. The creditors should be allowed to
participate in the process of privatization on
preferential basis and in lieu of their loans
they may purchase shares of privatized units.
The amount of interest thus saved will be
diverted to social sector which has helped in
accelerating the pace of development in the
country. During the earlier tenure of People's
Government we had made strenuous efforts to
lower the budget deficit but the outcome of our
efforts was nullified by reckless >pending of
Nawaz Government and once again we were faced
with deficit financing to the extent that we had
to seek loans for paying salaries of government
servants. In order to put an end to such an
-responsible conduct we have decided to take
certain immediate steps. These steps are being
taken to save the country. These steps are being
- »;en to secure the future of our younger
generation. These steps are being taken to move
out of darkness into light. The only way to
achieve this objective is through legislation.
We have decided to introduce a bill in the
Assembly binding the Government to keep its
expenditure within the limits of its income.
I would like to
tell you something about income and expenditure.
Every one fully understands that the household
expenditure has to be within the limits of one’s
salary. However certain governments act
responsibly while others behave irresponsibly.
Those governments which act in irresponsible
manner their expenditure is more than the income
and when such a situation arises what do they
do? The Government prints fresh currency notes
and the more the notes are printed the more the
value of rupee declines. The decline in the
value of rupee also results in its devaluation
at international level. And what is the cause c
f pace escalation in the country? It is mainly
due to lack of balance between income and
expenditure. The imbalance between income and
expenditure is called deficit budgeting and to
meet the deficit in budget either fresh notes
are printed or fresh loans are sought. Thus the
entire amount is used in paying off interest on
the loans or the currency has to be devalued. I
therefore wish to share this information with
the people of Pakistan who have political
intellect and should be aware of the fact that
we have to strike a balance between our income
and expenditure. If we are able to achieve the
required balance, which we can, then we shall be
able to eradicate dearness. That is why people
of Pakistan have elected me. They have elected
me to banish price escalation. However, I do not
possess Aladdin’s magic lamp for uprooting
dearness. We will have to offer sacrifices. We
shall be required to offer sacrifices, this
year, for establishing balance between our
income and expenditure. This will help in
reducing budget deficit which will be useful for
your betterment. You will feel the impact of
improvement not after ten years but within a few
months, and next year, Inshallah, the situation
will further improve followed by greater
improvement year after year. This is exactly
what we wish to see, progress and prosperity of
those who have elected us, who have bestowed
this honor on us and who have entrusted us with
this responsibility. We want to see eradication
of dearness, eradication of un-employment and we
want a strong and stable economy in Pakistan.
My brothers and
sisters !
In the past if
the Federal Government suffered from some
failings, the Provincial Governments were also
victims of many a weaknesses. If the Federal
Government increased budget deficit, the
Provincial Governments also did the same. We
want the Provincial Governments to run their
affairs in a responsible manner.
We have decided
that every year the Provincial Governments
should pay a small portion of surplus income for
their annual development plans. This year the
Federal Government is paying to the Provinces
much more than the financial assistance they
have been receiving so far. Since we are
introducing some changes in Tax structure,
therefore in future the annual share of the
Provinces will be higher than the Federal
Government.
Under the old
taxation system, the Federal Government received
greater share, however according to the new
taxation system, Provinces will have major
portion of tax income. In fact, this practice is
partially due to new taxation system and
partially because of NFC Award. You will recall
that NFC Award was approved during Nawaz rule.
In accordance with the provisions of the Award
the Provincial Governments said that they will
not resort to deficit financing if additional
funds were provided to them and the Federal
Government would not be required to make up
provincial deficit. But it did not happen.
Let me inform you
that in 1991. Punjab received Rs. 18.6 billion.
Sindh got Rs. 7.5 billion. Frontier was paid
Rs.4.5 billion while Baluchistan was given Rs.
4.1 billion, however the governments in power at
that time used funds most recklessly. If you pay
a visit to Provinces and go to cities like
Faisalabad, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta you
will find that there are no roads, no water
supply or sewerage system. I would like to know
how the entire money has been consumed.
It is indeed
extremely deplorable to see that in order to win
over MPAs and MNAs loans were given in
fictitious and fake names which have not been
paid back so far. More over funds were provided
for purchase of fertilizers for non-existent
schemes. The amount thus paid was wasted
elsewhere.
This year in
1993-94, the allocation to Punjab has almost d:
-bled. It received Rs. 36.5 billion as compared
to Rs. 18.5 billion paid earlier. Sindh received
Rs. 18.4 billion against Rs. 7.5 billion which
is more than two times of the earlier amount.
Frontier also got almost double the amount,
i.e.
Rs.8 billion as compared to Rs.4.5 billion.
Balochistan too had more than two times of its
previous share. It was paid Rs. 8.7 billion as
against Rs. 4.1 billion granted earlier.
I invited all the
Chief Ministers and informed them that this year
you will get more funds than before, partly due
to new taxation system and partly because of NFC
Award. The amount received by you under new
taxation system should not be wasted but
utilised most judiciously. History will not
forgive us if this amount is wasted. Generally
we are in the habit of saying that we did not
get anything. I sought permission from the Chief
Ministers and informed them that I was going to
address the nation and lay before the people
details of the amount paid to the provinces last
year and how much was being earmarked in the new
budget.
My countrymen!
I would like to
inform you about the amount paid to the
provinces last year and the allocations for the
next year. Last year
Punjab was paid
Rs. 36.5 billion whereas this year it will
receive Rs. 49 billion. Sindh got Rs. 18.5
billion, this year its share will be Rs.24
billion. Last year we paid Rs. 8.5 billion to
NWFP, this year Frontier will have more than
Rs. 11 billion. Similarly, Balochistan was given
about Rs. 8.7 billion last years. But this year
it will be paid Rs. 10.2 billion.
Brothers and
sisters!
As such, this
year, Punjab is receiving 34 per cent more
funds. Sindh is getting 30.4 per cent increase.
Frontier is having 33 per cent increase and
Balochistan is getting 17 per cent increase. In
the history of Pakistan, Provincial share was
never increased to such an extent as done by the
People's Government. Why are we giving this
increase? It is being done because people's
welfare programmes like health, education,
irrigation etc. are mostly implemented by the
provinces and we want these additional funds to
be used for the betterment of the people living
in the provinces. I am grateful to the
Provincial Chief Ministers who firmly promised
that they will not purchase aero planes, they
will not purchase pajeros, and they will not
purchase land cruisers. How can we face the
people if after taxing the poor for the sake of
creating a balance between the income and
expenditure the rulers start purchasing new
cars, land cruisers and pajeros. I am thankful
to the four Provincial Chief Ministers who
promised to extend full cooperation to the
Federal Government. I would like this additional
amount to be utilised for developmental plans
and not for non-developmental purposes.
Recently when I
visited Karachi 1 was extremely pleased to know
that KMC budget amounted to Rs.4 billion. 1 said
it is indeed most heartening that they have so
much money. There were times when even the
Province of Balochistan did not receive so much
money as the city of Karachi alone was being
paid. Later, however, I was told that half of
the amount of Rs. 4.5 billion was consumed for
paying salaries to KMC employees, while half of
the remaining amount was used for salaries of
ZMC employees. So after deducting the
expenditure on salaries only 25 per cent was
left for the poor. This is wrong. We are not
supposed to spend money on salaries, air
conditioning and petrol. We are required to
spend money on construction of roads, bridges,
sewerage system, schools and hospitals. We have
to use our funds for setting up cottage
industries so as to provide employment to the
people.
We have
completely different thinking and philosophy.
Your new Government has a new ideology. The
basic object of this ideology is to eradicate
dearness, un-employment and poverty from the
country. We shall be able to hold our head up
before the people only when we are able to
achieve these objectives. Today, I can state
with full confidence that we shall definitely
reach our destination, because your prayers and
good wishes are with the government, because the
government is working for progress and
prosperity of Pakistan with utmost sincerity.
Earlier, I had
spoken about taxation system, now I wish to talk
about taxes. It is absolutely imperative that
the present taxation system in our country
should be reformed in a way that it not only
helps in generating greater income for the
government but also eliminates the prevalent
indiscipline and injustice.
Our taxation
system with its narrow base has a number of
evils. It lacks flexibility, it is ineffective
and in just. The government because of these
evils puts greater tax burden on the people
every year.
We have decided
to take certain basic measures in this regard.
We will reform the entire system on the
principle of lower tax rates and withdrawal of
all the concessions. We will encourage
maintenance of record under the new taxation
system. Individuals and organizations will have
to maintain complete record of their business
transactions. This is the only way to ensure
implementation of taxing system which is based
on justice and under which everyone is required
to pay tax strictly according to his capacity.
We shall reform the present taxation system on
these lines which will help in quick disposal of
tax cases and laying hand on tax evaders.
Brothers and
sisters!
I would like to
explain the proposed new taxation system in
simpler words. Under the present taxation system
in Pakistan if a person earns Rs. 100/- he has
to pay Rs. 40/- to the Government and be content
with the remaining Rs. 60/-. The Government
after deducting Rs. 40/- and giving the
remaining Rs. 60/- fails to distinguish between
those who consume their income and those who
deposit their savings in the Banks. Under the
new taxation system which was initiated by us in
1988-90 and will be further enlarged to include
some new items, those who can spend will be
required to pay tax while those who do not spend
will not have to pay taxes. If I need a new
fridge or a T.V. or a V.C.R. or new clothes or
new shoes I will be required to pay tax,
however, why should those who do not spend or do
not need these things be taxed. So far even
those who did not spend or purchase these
articles were also taxed to save those from
taxes who were spending lavishly. With the
introduction of new taxation system this year
only those who spend money will have to pay tax
on all those articles which they purchase,
however those who do not buy anything will not
be required to pay tax. Next year we will bring
down the taxation level so that presently
whatever tax is being paid at lower level should
be discontinued and those who earn and pay taxes
should be left with greater amount.
Unfortunately, so far the Government has been
taxing and targeting those who have been
honestly paying their taxes. They were honest,
they were truthful, they were paying taxes
therefore they should be further taxes, and
those who were not paying any taxes and the
Government was also unable to recover taxes from
them were left out while those who were paying
taxes were further burdened with taxes. This is
wrong. There are many people who do not pay
taxes and since they avoid paying taxes we
instead extract more taxes from those who pay
Government dues. With effect from the next year
those who pay taxes will have to pay less and
only those Pakistanis who wish to spend money
will be required to pay tax. This is just and
fair. There are numerous tax defaulters. But in
order to lay our hand on such persons we will
have to establish a new force and incur heavy
expenditure which we can hardly afford. We have
therefore decided that under the new taxation
system only those should pay taxes that tend to
spend. And not only that, I would like to
announce and warn tax evaders that it would be
better if they get into the tax network. This is
the last chance for them to be covered by the
tax network. Tax evaders should realize that the
Government has a political will, a political
determination and a political objective. They
should also try to realize how and why the
peoples Government were formed? The peoples
Government was formed because we were not afraid
of anyone else except Allah and we believed that
those who follow the path of truth are always
helped by Allah. That is why we have the courage
which the past Government lacked. Those who have
clean hands and clean conscience also have the
courage to recover Government dues. You have
brought us to power. It is a great honor. We
shall come up to your expectations. Let me call
upon the tax evaders to come under the tax
network. We are preparing a plan to look for the
tax evaders during the next year and also find
out who were living beyond their means. In our
country, so far only the politicians have been
apprehended while tax evaders have remained
untouched- Now that the democracy has been
reestablished dictatorial regime has been
banished, the rule of black money and smugglers
is over we shall apprehend those who are tax
evaders and put them in jail. Let no one come to
us and seek help for them. If you consider
yourself to be an honorable person, then better
visit CBR and pay your tax dues. No one will
touch you. And don't think that some influential
persons, whom you know, will come to your
rescue. As far as this Government is concerned
there are no influential or big people; All are
equal before law. This Government has taken some
tough and important decisions during the past
eight months. This Government preferred to loose
Chairmanship of the Senate but did not agree to
release drug smugglers. It is this Government
which has suspended an SSP who was responsible
for the escape of a drug smuggler from his
custody. It is this Government which has
arrested a Bank President who is still in jail.
It is this Government which has suspended State
Bank officials for having failed to carry out
their responsibilities. It is this Government
which after releasing the report of the
Commission appointed for investigating the fire
incident in the National Assembly, suspended a
Grade-22 officer and initiated enquiry against
him. Let no one think that this Government lacks
determination. It is our commitment with the
people of this Pak land that we will give them a
Pak (clean) society, and for achieving this
objective we will firmly face all the
conspiracies against us. Our conscience is
clean. We know, we are treading Allah's path.
Let them hatch conspiracies, we shall continue
fighting against them resolutely. We shall not
abandon our path. The basic philosophy of our
social ideology is that individuals and
nongovernmental organizations can carry out
social activities in a far better way. The
Government should provide them congenial
atmosphere wherein they can fully demonstrate
their capabilities.
We have decided
that gradually free convertibility of rupee
should be made possible. Stock Exchange will
have important position in the new financial
system. Presently, stock markets are dealing in
shares only. They do not transact business loans
or securities. Henceforth it will be possible
for them to handle both. We consider
privatization an essential process. Our
Government is giving a new concept to the
privatization programme. All those organizations
which can be operated by private sector will be
privatized. We are also trying to link
privatization programme with our plans to reduce
Government debts.
It is not
possible to have real progress as long as the
fruits of development do not benefit low income
group. In the Eighth Five-Year Plan eradication
of poverty is our basic target and we have
prepared a comprehensive scheme to achieve this
objective.
Ever since the
sale of public sector industries, prices of
cement, ghee and fertilizers have considerably
increased. We cannot allow growth of monopolies
in the country. We must have greater
competition. Increase in the prices of 25
commodities of basic need used in every house
will be strictly checked and controlled. This
Government will extend help to those traders who
wish to set up industries in undeveloped areas
under the government's Public-Private
Partnership scheme. The said plan envisages 50
per cent investment by the government and 50
per cent by private investor. However, after a
few years government shares will be sold and in
the first instance offered to those who have
already invested in the said project. I wish to
invite those entrepreneurs who intend to
establish standardized hospitals, schools or
industrial units in rural areas, to come forward
and enter into partnership with the government.
The investment in such projects will be on equal
basis i.e.
fifty per cent by the government and fifty per
cent by private party. Let these projects be
successfully operated by us jointly. The
management of these units will be in your hands
and later on, Inshallah, you will purchase
government shares as well.
It is an
important basic programme, a grass-root
programme and wish to extend loan facilities to
rural areas as well. Presently most of the loans
are granted to people in big cities whereas 70
per cent population of the country lives in
rural areas and we want to maintain balance in
availability of loans to the people. And apart
from rural population we have also to think
about fishermen. Most of us know very little
about this segment of our society. The fishermen
use small boats, as compared to big boats owned
by wealthy people, and do fishing in deep
waters. These people neither have a proper and
solid boats nor the facility of :: d-storage
where they could stock their daily catch. We
will establish public sector Banks in those
areas where fishermen operate. The Banks will be
instructed to advance loans to fishermen for
purchase of boats and setting up of cold
storages so as to improve their standard of
living.
My countrymen,
perhaps you have very little or no knowledge
about fishermen and their activities. They
contribute one per cent to our GDP and earn four
per cent of our foreign exchange. It is
therefore necessary that we should also
co-operate with our coastal population. They are
an important part of our economy.
Agriculture
sector which provides employment and earning
opportunities to majority of our people is
victim of defective Government policies. As you
may be aware, last year our agriculture suffered
from negative growth rate of 3.5 per cent. We
are importing 30 per cent of our wheat
requirements. Surprisingly we are prepared to
pay to growers of foreign countries but not to
our own growers. This is not fair. We want to
pay to our growers as well. That is why we have
made two important decisions, one to impose tax
on wealthy landlords. They will be required to
pay Agriculture Tax as well as Income Tax. In
addition to this, the growers will also have to
be paid proper price for their produce. If in
agriculture sector we want our growers to pay
international prices for fertilizers, seeds,
petrol and tractors, then how can we refuse
international price for their produce. That
country alone can be self-sufficient in food and
be independent which can provide enough food to
its people. We want that instead of being food
importing country Pakistan should turn into food
exporting country. Let me tell you that the
twentieth century was industrial goods century
but the twenty first century will be century of
agricultural industry. It will be century of
agro-based goods. The population of the world
has tremendously increased. Today the greatest
problem of many of countries is how to feed
their people. Pakistan will certainly become a
great country if it is able to provide food to
her own people and also export it to other
countries. That is why we have set our eyes on
twenty first century and wish to provide
incentives to our growers, but certainly not to
big landlords. Ever since the creation of
Pakistan, not once the farmers or big landowners
have been taxed, In cities government servants
pay income tax but in rural areas big landowners
do not do so.
My father who was
your first elected Prime Minister had decided in
1977 and also got a law duly approved that big
landowners will have to pay tax. But then
Martial Law was imposed and during the course of
Martial Law big landowners and wealthy people
managed to save them. However, now the time has
come for the poor masses to benefit. The
daughter is here to redeem the pledges and
commitments of her father in helping the poor.
My brothers and
sisters!
We shall improve
and extend the irrigation system which helps in
enhancing utilization of agriculture land and
also protects it against adverse effects of
weather. A big anti-waterlogging and
anti-salinity plan has been launched to retrieve
effected lands and make them suitable for
cultivation. The plan includes Right Bank and
Left Bank Outfall Drainage schemes. These
schemes will help in retrieving those lands
which are presently hit by waterlogging and
salinity. Once these lands have been retrieved,
food production in the country will increase and
Pakistan will take another stride towards
self-sufficiency in food. We are trying to set
up an extensive network of water resources. This
will have great impact on our economic progress.
It will be more positive and productive than
motorway plans. Our important projects are as
follows:-
·
Oil Refinery in Multan and Badin.
·
Oil terminal on Port Qasim.
·
Oil Pipeline between Karachi and Multan which will be extendable to
Lahore.
·
Electrification of 5000 villages every year.
·
Installation of two hundred thousand (200,000) telephone connections in
rural areas every year.
·
Implementation of coal-mining and power generation projects in
Tharparker which will provide employment to lacs
of people.
·
Power generation projects of 3000 MW in private sector.
·
Three new ports in coastal areas.
·
New transport projects in Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad.
·
Eight hundred kilometer long double track railway line from Lodhran to
Peshawar.
Development of
energy sector is an important part of our social
programme. The plans announced by our Government
for the development of this sector are
revolutionary. We have made a commitment with
the people that during the next five years we
shall eliminate load shedding. There are people
who say it is impossible. But »; feel that with
the prayers of the poor even impossible things
can become possible. The work initiated by us
will take the country out of dark ness. The
incentives offered by us to private sector for
investment under this policy are for better than
those given by any other country in this region.
According to our estimate during the next one or
two years the total amount of investment
expected to be made in this sector will be much
more than the total amount invested since
Independence to this day. We have launched two
important power projects. One is Hub Project
which will cost 1.8 billion dollars and produce
1400 Megawatt: electricity. The second is Ghazi
Brotha Project. A sum of 1.7 billion dollars
will be spent on its construction and it will
also generate 1400 Megawatt electricity.
Together with these projects we hope that
private sector will also produce about 700
Megawatt electricity. With the supply of 700
Megawatt from private sector and completion of
Ghazi Brotha and Hub Projects, about 50 percent
additional electricity will be available during
five year time. That is to say we shall add 50
percent electricity to the total power generated
in Pakistan since the time of Quaid-e-Azam
todate. We are focusing our attention not only
on energy, but also wish to improve roads. We
are trying to spread a network of roads similar
to highways. Accordingly National Highway is
being turned into dual carriage while Indus
Highway is being completed expeditiously. More
over in order to ensure development of
under-developed areas new roads connecting big
cities in Sindh and Balochistan are being
constructed. Now that the Annual Budget is round
the corner, I have informed you of our
activities during the past eight months and of
our future plans.
My brothers and
sisters!
We inherited a
very difficult economic situation. You will
recall that the Interim Prime Minister had
observed that the economy of Pakistan was on the
brink of bankruptcy. But we have tried to
overcome all the difficulties. You must have
seen our comments in newspapers that this year's
budget will be extremely hard. Why have we used
the word 'hard' and what is meant by hardship?
Let me tell you that last year's budget was not
our budget. Taxes imposed last years and those
collected this year will be equal, may not equal
but slightly less because we want to establish
that we were working hard for you. May be tax
mobilization this year has not benefited you,
but current year's tax mobilization is less than
the previous year. Moreover, errors and
omissions committed in the past are also being
corrected. We are incurring expenditure on three
subjects and these are not of our choosing. The
burden being carried by us is due to the
mistakes and blunders of the past government.
The past governments did not care to increase
pay of the government servants. This burden will
have to be borne by us. The past government
borrowed so heavily that the total loans
exceeded the total domestic debts of different
governments from the time of Quaid-e-Azam to the
earlier tenure of Benazir. The heavy burden of
interest on the borrowings by Nawaz Government
during its three years rule has also to be borne
by us. Moreover, in our times budget deficit was
6.5 percent which went up to 8 per cent during
Nawaz's rule. Under the IMF agreement we have to
reduce budget deficit, however since it
increased under Nawaz Government we have to
strive hard to bring it down. Thus we have to
carry this burden as well. This year's budget
would not have been so hard if we were not
required to carry these three heavy burdens. If
today the budget is hard, it is so because we
were starting a new chapter after overcoming the
problems caused by the mistakes of the past
government. Having unloaded the burden of the
past we are now moving towards a bright future.
We know it is not an easy path, but we also know
that if we want to make Pakistan a great
country, if we want to provide justice in
Pakistan then it is imperative to take such
steps which are absolutely necessary for the
good of the country. Let us not forget that
nothing is easy to achieve. When our country was
under the poke of dictatorship, when people were
being whipped and elected Prime Minister was
hanged, we said that we shall restore democracy.
We shall fight for the sake of Constitution and
we shall fight for the rights of the people, but
people use to laugh and say that you were mad,
who can confront dictatorship? But we said the
message of Islam and me message of humanity is
to tread the path of truth, to tread the path of
principles. We should work according to our
conscience. So we all smuggled together.
Many people
observe that BENAZIR is a woman and that too in
an Islamic society. Earlier there has been no
woman Prime Minister, how can she become a Prime
Minister? However I tell them that while saying
so you should remember that I am sister of the
poor and since I am sister of the poor, they are
with me, and since I am symbol of their hopes
and aspirations we shall definitely be
successful. Life is full of trials and
tribulations, but the ultimate victory always
belongs to the poor. People are Allah's
creation. We struggled; you were the source of
my strength. I am nothing. Neither had I
possessed Kalashnikov nor a rifle. We were empty
handed. Our only possession was faith, we had
determination, and we had commitment. Today
after a long and arduous struggle Pakistan has
become a democratic country but not in name
only. We have true democracy and it is due to
you, due to your sacrifices and due to your
struggle. The political battle has been won by
the people. Now all of us have to wage another
war. It is not political war. It is economic
war.
We want to have
sound and stable economy. We want to have an
economy where we can banish poverty, where we
can banish dearness and un-employment, where we
can save our children from polio, where we can
provide justice to our mothers and sisters. We
want to have a society wherein we can live with
honor and respect. Some people say it is just a
dream, but let me tell them that is not a dream.
People laughingly say how all these things can
be achieved? I will like to inform them that
those who have strong faith, these who tread the
path of truth, those who adopt the path of the
people, history bears out that ultimate victory
belongs to them. This victory will be the
victory of the people.
Pakistan Zindabad.
