AFTER the general election of 2013 as the nation celebrated the smooth transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another, frantic efforts were under way to hammer out a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resurrect Pakistan’s collapsing economy. The all-too-familiar twin deficits of the fiscal and current account were dragging macroeconomic indicators to a point of no return. The economic team under the interim set-up had already held initial discussions about the possibility of a new programme once the new government assumed office and a return to the Fund seemed inevitable.

On Sept 4, 2013, the executive board of the IMF approved a three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) worth $6.64 billion to support the country’s economic reform programme and promote inclusive growth. The turnaround of the macroeconomic variables during the last two years has led to multilaterals such as the Asian Development Bank and World Bank providing external flows to provide much needed budget support to fill revenue shortfall. Our inability to collect and mobilise funds internally remains one of the major impediments, along with a dysfunctional energy sector dependent on heavy subsidies that hamper economic recovery and reduce fiscal space for social sector development.

One does not have to delve too deeply into the positive indicators which have been achieved during the last two years to understand the vulnerabilities for sustained economic growth in the medium to long term. Regrettably, social indicators such as health and education, employment and most of all, poverty are still far from improving.

After the 18th Amendment, provincial governments are responsible for these sectors including planning, spending and expanding these services. IMF programmes focus on macroeconomic vulnerabilities and not growth. As a result, spending on social sectors gets compromised. Thus, while visible indicators may have improved, social indicators remain invisible and do not make it onto anyone’s radar. In their zeal to exercise their newfound empowerment, provincial governments seem to have entered the rat race, intent on erecting urban infrastructure while ignoring the basic needs of the poor and vulnerable population.

Many reasons are given as to why Pakistan has not made significant advances on the MDGs.

Unsurprisingly Pakistan’s scorecard on social sector indicators is very poor. Pakistan adopted eight development goals — the Millennium Deve­lopment Goals — at the turn of the century. These were meant to ensure a global partnership for development, eradication of hunger, universal primary education, environmental sustainability, gender equality, as well as for combating disease, improving maternal health and reducing child mortality. So how does one account for Pakistan’s dismal performance vis-à-vis the MDGs?

Well, it appears that successive governments have been unable to meet the commitments made by Pakistan at international forums as these goals were not given much importance while formulating the development agenda for the country. Improving the social sector will remain a far-fetched dream if we continue to ignore investment in development of human capital. The authorities are ignoring the fact that Pakistan can only be classified as a responsible state if it allocates substantial funds for the basic needs of its citizens as enshrined in the Constitution.

There is no denying that Pakistan faces many challenges which require both resources and time. We cannot afford to ignore them. For instance, if we take a look at the state of affairs in the transport sector nationwide, the discussion is limited to the provision of metro buses in big cities, bullet trains and wide-bodied aircraft. Something that is genuinely needed and never discussed despite having a direct relationship with the social and economic development of the country is the lack of school buses. Not a single provincial government has a plan or project to start this facility which would provide huge encouragement to parents to send their children to school.

One can only imagine how much is wrong with our priorities if our development agenda fails to focus on projects which are a must for the people. Many reasons are given as to why Pakistan has not made significant advances on the MDGs and the long list of excuses includes: a lack of resources, natural calamities, the war on terror, etc. What we fail to take into account is the absence of ownership along with a concerted plan and strategy to achieve them.

During its 70th session the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted 17 Sustainable Developments Goals (SDGs) which focus on a wide range of issues to be achieved by 2030. The SDGs are designed to steer the nations adopting them to pursue policies to end hunger and poverty. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that the SDG agenda of the UN complements Pakistan’s Vision 2025. We need to ensure that we do not repeat the mistakes made to achieve the MDGs while formulating plans this time around.

Over the years the Planning Commission has remained responsible for the implementation of MDGs either through its own arrangements or donor initiatives, neither of which has worked. Like the expired MDGs, the SDGs 2015 relate mostly to performance of the provincial governments; as such it would be only fitting if this time around, the arrangements for monitoring these goals were made through an effective institutional monitoring mechanism.

Each time we have a fresh commitment such as the one agreed at the General Assembly we attempt to create a new commission, cell, unit, or task force. This time we should rely on our existing resources and not incur additional expenditures. There is an underutilised Inter-Provincial Coordination Division under the Cabinet Secretariat which is the administrative division for the Council of Common Interests. The prime minister is the chair of the CCI with the chief ministers as members. The prime minister through this constitutional arrangement can personally monitor the progress of the commitment he made at the 70th session of the UNGA regarding SDGs which will, in fact, also facilitate him to realise his government’s Vision 2025.

The writer is former secretary Cabinet and Economic Affairs Division.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2015

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