Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Showcasing Pakistanâs development
Syed Mohammad Ali
Without achieving adequate literacy and other basic social service needs, harnessing the potential of the young population would also remain difficult. Instead of reaping a demographic dividend, Pakistan may thus have to contend with the growing frustration of young people
The development sector in Pakistan has grown rather complex in recent decades. Several government departments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, international and national non-government organisations are now working simultaneously on a wide range of different efforts. Given this increasing complexity of development initiatives and partnerships, our government has acted upon the advice of prominent development agencies and created the Pakistan Development Forum, which is meant to annually share its national development priorities with relevant stakeholders. Thus far, seven of these annual development forums have been held.
These forums can arguably be considered a successor to the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium, given that international donors remain the primary audience for this newly created platform as well. In addition to emphasising their particular concerns during this forum, the understanding gained by donor agencies concerning Pakistanâs development priorities is supposed to help them align their own assistance strategies to bolster government efforts. Yet in effect, development processes in countries like our own are heavily influenced by donor priorities, since donors are also keener to shape development priorities instead of merely supplementing them.
The Pakistan Development Forum was first held in 2001, right after the current government took office in Pakistan. This forum thus remained preoccupied with the incoming governmentâs drive to devolve local power on the basis of the promulgation of the Local Government Ordinance 2001. This was also around the time when Pakistan decided to accept the challenge of meeting the UN-articulated Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and had also decided to adopt the new poverty reduction strategy formulated by the World Bank for developing countries. Subsequent forums focused on reporting progress and identifying impediments in furthering devolution, as well as tracking implementation of key national planning documents like the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper prepared by the finance ministry and the Medium-Term Development Framework of the Planning Commission.
Then the forum held in 2006 decided to begin concentrating on specific measures that could be taken to promote development. The development forum in 2006 considered the potential of the private sector as a driver of economic growth while this yearâs forum looked at harnessing human capital. The current forum on the demographic dividend basically emphasised the potential for growth and poverty reduction becoming available due to a change in the age distribution of the countryâs population. An age transition has occurred in Pakistan since youth comprises around 70 percent of our current population. The 2007 forum thus deliberated upon policies and programmes which could be adopted to avail this potential demographic dividend. Donors also agreed that the approach to human development in Pakistan must begin to focus on the importance of the youth bulge and its implications.
Another mentionable feature of this yearâs forum was its attempt to highlight development challenges in FATA and strategies to address these. FATA clearly lags far behind the rest of Pakistan and the lingering law and order problems afflicting this area have been catapulted into the international spotlight subsequent to 9/11. The governmentâs strategy for FATA was articulated under its FATA Sustainable Development Plan, which outlined a number of overarching issues such as governance, law and order, society and culture, services and utilities, economy and development, and environmental concerns.
This plan has formulated specific interventions for each of these issues, to be undertaken over a nine-year period. The total funding requirement for the implementation of these efforts was estimated at around Rs124 billion, of which nearly Rs64 billion is already committed, Rs60 billion by the government and the rest by foreign donors. This is the first time FATA has been given such prominence. Yet, if the experience of neighbouring Afghanistan is anything to go by, ending violence in FATA will remain a prerequisite to achieving development, irrespective of the amount of money allocated to the uplift of this area.
Moreover, no one would dispute that the future of Pakistan would be much brighter if development policies can enable the youth to become healthy, educated and productive citizens. But the means to achieve this goal are contestable. The government claims it has achieved broad-based growth, macroeconomic stability and increased pro-poor expenditures; that the combined effect of these measures has brought poverty levels down from 34 to 24 percent.
Yet the results of targeting the poor and vulnerable or reducing inequalities in the country have not proven so successful, according to many other sources. Rural poverty may have fallen in absolute terms, but is still almost double that of urban poverty. Income inequality has also increased over the past six years. Gender, inter-provincial and inter-district gaps in poverty are also evident according to government statistics. The need for a more consensual approach to addressing such gaps in development is sorely needed. Instead of aiming to fill these gaps, however, donor policies often exacerbate existing disparities.
Since last year, the government had begun revising its poverty reduction strategy for another three-year period with the help of multilateral agencies like the World Bank. This new strategy is meant to lessen inequalities and meet the capacity building and employment generation demands of the large youth population. However, the need for redistributing existing resources in Pakistan has still not been addressed. The limited resources available for development, and the growth-led approach evident in the country, are not adequate to meet the pending development needs. Instead, measures like broadening the tax base are still being favoured â rather than making the tax regime more progressive â lest the growth rate is dampened.
Many development practitioners and analysts have concluded that if the prevailing trends continue, Pakistan will not achieve its Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Without achieving adequate literacy and other basic social service needs, harnessing the potential of the young population would also remain difficult. Instead of reaping a demographic dividend, Pakistan may thus have to contend with the growing frustration of young people, who remain deprived of a chance to improve their lives.
The writer is a researcher. He can be contacted at ali@policy.hu
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\05\story_5-6-2007_pg3_6
Showcasing Pakistanâs development
Syed Mohammad Ali
Without achieving adequate literacy and other basic social service needs, harnessing the potential of the young population would also remain difficult. Instead of reaping a demographic dividend, Pakistan may thus have to contend with the growing frustration of young people
The development sector in Pakistan has grown rather complex in recent decades. Several government departments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, international and national non-government organisations are now working simultaneously on a wide range of different efforts. Given this increasing complexity of development initiatives and partnerships, our government has acted upon the advice of prominent development agencies and created the Pakistan Development Forum, which is meant to annually share its national development priorities with relevant stakeholders. Thus far, seven of these annual development forums have been held.
These forums can arguably be considered a successor to the Aid-to-Pakistan Consortium, given that international donors remain the primary audience for this newly created platform as well. In addition to emphasising their particular concerns during this forum, the understanding gained by donor agencies concerning Pakistanâs development priorities is supposed to help them align their own assistance strategies to bolster government efforts. Yet in effect, development processes in countries like our own are heavily influenced by donor priorities, since donors are also keener to shape development priorities instead of merely supplementing them.
The Pakistan Development Forum was first held in 2001, right after the current government took office in Pakistan. This forum thus remained preoccupied with the incoming governmentâs drive to devolve local power on the basis of the promulgation of the Local Government Ordinance 2001. This was also around the time when Pakistan decided to accept the challenge of meeting the UN-articulated Millennium Development Goals by 2015, and had also decided to adopt the new poverty reduction strategy formulated by the World Bank for developing countries. Subsequent forums focused on reporting progress and identifying impediments in furthering devolution, as well as tracking implementation of key national planning documents like the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper prepared by the finance ministry and the Medium-Term Development Framework of the Planning Commission.
Then the forum held in 2006 decided to begin concentrating on specific measures that could be taken to promote development. The development forum in 2006 considered the potential of the private sector as a driver of economic growth while this yearâs forum looked at harnessing human capital. The current forum on the demographic dividend basically emphasised the potential for growth and poverty reduction becoming available due to a change in the age distribution of the countryâs population. An age transition has occurred in Pakistan since youth comprises around 70 percent of our current population. The 2007 forum thus deliberated upon policies and programmes which could be adopted to avail this potential demographic dividend. Donors also agreed that the approach to human development in Pakistan must begin to focus on the importance of the youth bulge and its implications.
Another mentionable feature of this yearâs forum was its attempt to highlight development challenges in FATA and strategies to address these. FATA clearly lags far behind the rest of Pakistan and the lingering law and order problems afflicting this area have been catapulted into the international spotlight subsequent to 9/11. The governmentâs strategy for FATA was articulated under its FATA Sustainable Development Plan, which outlined a number of overarching issues such as governance, law and order, society and culture, services and utilities, economy and development, and environmental concerns.
This plan has formulated specific interventions for each of these issues, to be undertaken over a nine-year period. The total funding requirement for the implementation of these efforts was estimated at around Rs124 billion, of which nearly Rs64 billion is already committed, Rs60 billion by the government and the rest by foreign donors. This is the first time FATA has been given such prominence. Yet, if the experience of neighbouring Afghanistan is anything to go by, ending violence in FATA will remain a prerequisite to achieving development, irrespective of the amount of money allocated to the uplift of this area.
Moreover, no one would dispute that the future of Pakistan would be much brighter if development policies can enable the youth to become healthy, educated and productive citizens. But the means to achieve this goal are contestable. The government claims it has achieved broad-based growth, macroeconomic stability and increased pro-poor expenditures; that the combined effect of these measures has brought poverty levels down from 34 to 24 percent.
Yet the results of targeting the poor and vulnerable or reducing inequalities in the country have not proven so successful, according to many other sources. Rural poverty may have fallen in absolute terms, but is still almost double that of urban poverty. Income inequality has also increased over the past six years. Gender, inter-provincial and inter-district gaps in poverty are also evident according to government statistics. The need for a more consensual approach to addressing such gaps in development is sorely needed. Instead of aiming to fill these gaps, however, donor policies often exacerbate existing disparities.
Since last year, the government had begun revising its poverty reduction strategy for another three-year period with the help of multilateral agencies like the World Bank. This new strategy is meant to lessen inequalities and meet the capacity building and employment generation demands of the large youth population. However, the need for redistributing existing resources in Pakistan has still not been addressed. The limited resources available for development, and the growth-led approach evident in the country, are not adequate to meet the pending development needs. Instead, measures like broadening the tax base are still being favoured â rather than making the tax regime more progressive â lest the growth rate is dampened.
Many development practitioners and analysts have concluded that if the prevailing trends continue, Pakistan will not achieve its Millennium Development Goals by 2015. Without achieving adequate literacy and other basic social service needs, harnessing the potential of the young population would also remain difficult. Instead of reaping a demographic dividend, Pakistan may thus have to contend with the growing frustration of young people, who remain deprived of a chance to improve their lives.
The writer is a researcher. He can be contacted at ali@policy.hu
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\05\story_5-6-2007_pg3_6
