PILDAT held a two-day workshop for the MPAs of Balochistan under the title of Provincial Budget Process on Sunday April 25 � Monday April 26, 2004 at Serena Hotel, Quetta as part of �Strengthening National and Provincial Legislative Governance in Pakistan� to prepare members of the Provincial Assembly to effectively review and analyze the budget before its approval.

The workshop was attended by 19 MPAs, of seven parties including MMA, PPPP, PML(Q), NP, NA, PMAP and BNP(M).

Mr. Jamal Shah Kakar, Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Balochistan presided over first session while Mr. Syed Ehsan Shah, Provincial Minister of Finance of Balochistan spoke about Conditions and Factors Influencing the Budget. Mr. Ahemad Mehmood Zahid, Provincial Secretary Finance, Balochistan presented an overview of the Provincial Budget Process. Mr. Syed Ehsan Shah, Provincial Minister of Finance of Balochistan, and Habib Jalib, Ex-Senator, (BNP) presided over the first session of the second day in which Mr. Muhammad Khan Mengal, Secretary, Provincial Assembly of Balochistan discussed the responsibilities of the MPAs relating to the Provincial Budget Process. The second day of the workshop also included a panel discussion which comprised Mr. Akhtar Hussain Lango, MPA-BNP(M), Ms. Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani, MPA-PML(Q) and Ambrose John Francis, MPA-NA.

All sessions were followed by an active Q&A session that provided a forum for debate and exchange of relevant ideas between speakers and the participating audience. The session proceedings were conducted both in Urdu and English.