The country needs creative cities that are connected not just through highways but intellectually, physically and culturally as well, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haque said on Saturday. “Besides building the infrastructure, high-rise buildings and highways, we should also focus on better governance, competitive markets, creative cities and a better environment for trade and entrepreneurship,” he added.
“We need to manage all the sectors of governance including the old magistracy system. We have still not introduced technology into government institutions and running a civil structure of the 19th century without reforms.” Dr Haque was speaking via a video link at a dialogue on “Framework for Economic Growth in Pakistan” at the Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences in Uthal.
He said that Pakistan’s growth rate has been very volatile and long-run growth is continuously declining because of the lack of a policy for this purpose. “We believed that economic growth would increase through foreign aid and projects, but it did not and consequently, our growth rate went down from seven percent to three percent,” he added.
Citing the examples of India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as growing economies, he said that Pakistan is the only country in the region where growth rate is continuously declining. He also warned that if the situation persists, it would totally shatter the economy. “Our current strategy is based on the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and we are using public resources to build the infrastructure and carry out projects. In the Planning Commission, we have realised that the PSDP cannot alone increase the growth rate and we are losing up to Rs 400 billion per annum through the PSDP,” he pointed out.
Stressing the need for a change in the growth policy, Dr Haque said that we require a sustained GDP growth that should be seven percent to cater to the needs of the two million children annually added to our population. “Our growth strategy must target the youth and community. There is a lack of competitive markets and government reforms. The government must be able to bring professionalism to the economy and focus on policy and regulations, leaving ownership and financing of assets as well as management and production to the private sector,” he added.
He called upon the academia to come forward and discuss the issue of growth with students and the society, research on it, examine government policies and accept or reject it so that the country could be brought back on the track of development. Speaking on the occasion, renowned economist and adviser to Sindh chief minister, Kaiser Bengali said that the industrial sector of the country cannot progress without gas and electricity.
“The country is full of resources and better economic policies and use of resources can change the fate of the common man,” he added. He said that the biggest issues hindering development in the country are unemployment and the migration of people from rural areas to cities. “Only democratic governments can put the country back on the track of development,” he added.
Shahid Sattar, a member of the Planning Commission, briefed the audience about the salient features of the new growth policy. “The new strategy emphasizes the role of state, governance methods and competitive markets,” he said. The dialogue was organised by the Planning Commission of Pakistan in collaboration with the Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences and the Governance Institute Network International to get a feedback on the new growth framework from the academia, youth, the media, entrepreneurs and the civil society.
The vice chancellor of the Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences, Dr Abdul Hameed Bajoi presided over the dialogue. PR
