ISLAMABAD: An official of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has suggested a three-pronged strategy - for reducing poverty, building capacity to deal with calamities, and ensuring effective governance - and said a “sense of urgency” is needed at the national level to overcome the socio-economic and management crises Pakistan faces.
Haoliang Xu, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said in an interview that he did not find “a sense of urgency” in Pakistan and that the approach of “business-as-usual” continued. Xu concluded his visit to Pakistan on Saturday.
The government and its institutions should have a “sense of urgency” because Pakistan is now lowest in the Human Development Index of the world, according to the UNDP official who has previously served in the country.
The economic growth rate is not satisfactory because of budgetary pressures and fiscal deficit, which have shrunk the government’s ability to invest in social sectors. Inability to invest in these sectors affects future growth rates as well as human resource development.
There were low allocations in social sectors, particularly in the education sector, he pointed out.
He said there was a need to build the capacity of making the development projects sustainable, adding that this was a big challenge for Pakistan.
Talking about Pakistan’s performance on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), he said the country fared poorly when compared to the other countries in the region.
Pakistan can learn from countries in South Asia to accelerate its progress towards achieving MDGs.
About government reforms, the UNDP official said holding general election alone was not enough. The voice of the people must be heard, establishing accountability and making people-oriented policies as governance is now on the global agenda.
Pakistan is passing through a very critical phase in the implementation and transition management following the 18th Amendment which has set new directions for Pakistan as a federal, democratic and parliamentary state, and UNDP is helping Pakistan achieve these objectives, Xu said.
On the cross-cutting gender issues, Xu said Pakistan should enhance the role of women in social, economic and political matters.
At present, the women participation in the parliament is 22 per cent, which needs to be enhanced to 30 percent as in the case of parliaments globally.
INTERNEWS
