ISLAMABAD – The budgetary allocations for terrorism, soaring defence expenditure and natural disasters are the main hurdles for the failure in attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and there is a need to advance the principles of localisation of the MDGs.
These views were expressed by politicians and experts on the final day of a two-day event on ‘National Conference on Monitoring the Achievements of the MDGs and Weaknesses of the Existing Budgetary Allocations’, which was held under the auspices of ActionAid Pakistan and AusAid.
In his address, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Secretary Information Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), stressed the need of public participation to recommend strategies to the government for attaining the MDGs.
He said the 18th Amendment did not incorporate intra-provincial disharmonies rather it was based on the principle of inter-provincial disharmony; hence it had become more significant for the humanitarian development sector to assist local governments in identifying gaps and in suggesting productive recommendations aligned with capacity building trainings of the provincial civil servants.
Dr Qaiser Aslam, an economist, called for a paradigm shift and said it was an irony that despite being an agricultural country, Pakistan always resorted to import farm products. He urged for changing the state of Pakistan form being security centred to social development focused.
Nasir Memon said the question of MDGs was more of a political rather than administrative nature as it was a matter of decision-making whether more funds should be allocated for defence expenditure or prefer spending maximum revenue collection on health, education and livelihood.
Rana Riaz Saeed said the available data reflected deceptive picture of the situation at individual, local and provincial levels. He also referred to destruction of schools by fundamentalists and claimed that it had played havoc with the morale of the government and general public to struggle for attaining MDGs.
Irfan Mufti from South Asia Partnership (SAP-PK) said human development was no more a part of the agenda and the country’s economy not oriented towards growth and progress. He stressed the need of socialising the MDGs and curbing militancy that has distorted the national outlook.
