Liberty Discussion on Fiscal Year 2021/22 Budget

The Liberty Discussion session was conducted through the socials room in the Clubhouse app on June 25, 2021. A write up by Samriddhi Foundation on the Quick Observations on FY 2021/22 Budget was selected as the reader for the session.

The discussion was centred around various reflections and observations of our participants on our recent federal budget for the fiscal year 2021/2022. The discussion commenced after a quick overview of the budget by our moderator which included a brief description of the priority sectors and other changes such as re-categorization of fiscal transfers and increased importance in social security. Some of the participants were actively involved in sectors such as agriculture, federalism which helped provide meaningful insights during the discussion. Participants noted the repetition of populist and inefficient programs included in the budget, the controversy surrounding the export of natural resources –  sand, stone and pebbles, allocation in agriculture. Participants also highlighted the new budget assigned programs of local level to the federal authorities, which could undermine the autonomy and capability of local governments. Initially, participants shared their views on the recent budget and its drawbacks, the discussion later moved towards discussing the positive aspects of the budget. All of the participants shared their opinion, questions and critique on the recent budget and left questioning if the government would be able to fulfil its set goals for the recent broad and populist federal budget for the fiscal year 2021/22.