Daily Times

LAHORE: Sindh Assembly has received the highest score of 68%, closely followed by the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at 66%, while Balochistan Assembly got the lowest score of 35%, according to an assessment report on the ‘Comparative performance of the four Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan in the third Parliamentary year (2015-2016)’ by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT).

In an assessment report that was shared with media on Monday, it was disclosed that Sindh Assembly performed the best in the area of representation in 2015-2016, with a high score of 88%. The attendance at Balochistan and Sindh assemblies remained highest at 34% on average while Punjab Assembly performed worst in this regard with an average of 13%.

PILDAT has assessed the cost-efficiency of the provincial assemblies with regards to allocation of the budget. In 2015-2016, KP Assembly was the most cost-efficient by spending Rs 6.3 million for every working hour, Punjab Assembly spent approximately Rs 6.8 million per working hour, Sindh Assembly about Rs 8.1 million per hour, and Balochistan Assembly was least cost-efficient with Rs 12.9 million per hour.

The PILDAT has evaluated the performance using a series of key performance indicators. Scores were generated using the min/max technique on the respective data for each provincial assembly and then aggregated to arrive at a final score out of five. After each score out of five was generated, equal weightage was assigned to each parameters including representation, legislation, oversight of the executive, and transparency and accountability. Final weighted percentage scores were then calculated. For the parameter on transparency and accountability, scores were assigned subjectively by the PILDAT team, based on the ongoing monitoring of the websites and sharing of crucial information.

The combined presence of former Balochistan chief minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch and current Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri was 59% of the total sittings in 2015-2016. A close second was the attendance of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at 51% of the total sittings in Sindh Assembly. KP Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak attended 29% of the sittings of the KP Assembly in 3rd year. The lowest attendance in 2015-2016 was of the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who only joined 5% sittings of the Punjab Assembly during the third year (4 sittings of 75).

However, Opposition Leader Mian Mehmoodur Rashid attended 85% of the sittings in 2015-2016, the highest figure for any leader of the opposition in provincial assemblies. Sindh Assembly Opposition Leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan was present for 73% of sittings; Balochistan Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Abdul Wasay attended 61% of sittings while KP Assembly Opposition Leader Maulana Lutfur Rehman was present for 53% of the sittings.

Sindh Assembly also performed best with regards to legislation with a score of 70%. The assembly saw an active membership that introduced the highest number of Private Members’ Bills at nine. Private Members’ Bills are important indicators of the performance as they reflect the usage of the provision given to legislators to make laws in addition to those made by the executive. The remaining three provincial assemblies lagged behind with only one Private Members’ Bill introduced by the Punjab and KP assemblies each, while no Private Members’ Bill was introduced in the Balochistan Assembly in 2015-2016.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly passed 46 laws in its third year (2015-2016), Sindh Assembly passed 28 bills, Balochistan Assembly 23 bills while the KP Assembly passed the lowest number of bills at 18.

Punjab Assembly had best performance with regards to the Oversight of the Executive in 2015-2016 with a score of 84%. Punjab Assembly spent 13 sittings (42 hours) discussing the provincial budget 2015-2016. In comparison, the Sindh Assembly’s budget session lasted 10 sittings (39 hours); Balochistan Assembly’s session lasted 6 sittings (14 hours) and KP Assembly passed the budget in only five sittings. In terms of oversight of finances, however, the Sindh Assembly surpassed Punjab by being the only assembly to review the implementation of budget on quarterly basis. The executive in Sindh submits a quarterly report of the budget to Sindh Assembly, which is then discussed by legislators.

PILDAT has been making recommendations to strengthen the budget process in the parliament and provincial assemblies of Pakistan, which include increasing the duration of the budget process to at least 30–45 days and changes in the rules of procedure of the provincial assemblies to allow standing committees to have both power and time to review the budget both before and after its introduction.

The Punjab Assembly met for the most number of sittings at 75 as compared to Sindh Assembly at 59 sittings, KP Assembly at 51 sittings and Balochistan Assembly with only 46 sittings under its belt. In terms of time spent in the House, Sindh Assembly members spent 3.1 hours on average per sitting, followed by Punjab Assembly with 2.6 hours per sitting, KP Assembly with 2.5 hours per sitting, and lastly Balochistan Assembly with 2.1 hours per sitting.

Standing committees, which offer the most important avenue of oversight of the executive and are considered the eyes and ears of each legislature, show a dismal trend of activity across four provincial legislatures. Even the highest number of average meetings per standing committee is 2.4, which was in the Sindh Assembly.