MONEM FAROOQI
The Punjab government would pay Rs17.853 billion for a $340.8 million loan, taken for Punjab Government Efficiency Improvement Programme (PEIP) without harvesting its benefits, it is learnt.
The Punjab Planning and Development Department (P&D) sources told Pakistan Today that the Punjab government got loan worth $511.2 million (Rs 53.4 billion) from the Asian Development Bank in 2009 for PEI programme, which could not be implemented in letter and spirit. The Punjab government had applied for this loan in 2007 but it was deferred twice and was approved in 2009. Unfortunately, the programme could not be implemented full till the filing of this report. Most of the loan amount remained unused. They sources said that the delay in implementation divided the programme into segments, ‘it has not implemented even after the 3rd extension despite that the donor (ADB) had divided this load in 7 components after failure in achieving the desired results, they said.
According to the agreement, available with Pakistan Today, the Punjab government would pay 1 per cent of the amount during the grace period of 1 per cent and 1.5 per cent after the completion of the programme with commitment charges of 0.15 per cent annually.
According to Asian Development Bank (ADB) fact-finding mission report instead of loan final appraisal documents, available with the Pakistan Today, the outcome of the programme was to bring about efficiency in the allocation of scarce resources and greater responsiveness to citizens’ needs. The outcome was supported by four outputs; public resource management modernized and made more efficient; civil service pension system made financially sustainable; civil service efficiency and motivation enhanced; and greater private sector participation in economic activity, and a redefined role for the Punjab public sector.
The documents mentioned that the greater part of the outcome of ‘civil service motivation and efficiency enhanced’ was not achieved, and did not contribute to the programme outcome. ‘There was insufficient political will and public pressure to effect long-term, sustained change’, they said adding that civil service reform vision and change management units needed a well-thought-out strategy and a strong agency, and the process was started but did not proceed over time.
The foundations of professional management cadre were not made, as no civil servants were recruited under the Provincial Management System. The proposed competitive and incentive-based recruitment system for managing development programmes was initiated but has not been sustained. Change management agents were appointed, but the anticipated reform strategy and direction from the PPCMW, along with a detailed change management process, did not materialize.
They said that some resources might have been used for broad consultation with the education, health, and police departments, which comprised the majority of civil servants, to solicit ideas and support for needed reforms, but the government did not proceed in this direction. The MPDD conducted training and capacity building activities and this helped create a positive impact on the outlook of the departmental officials at various tiers, but the impact remained limited in the absence of a robust human resources policy that includes continuous career development, the sources added.
According to documents, the civil service was a drain on the provincial government budget, with its wage bill and pensions accounting for nearly 59 per cent of the consolidated recurrent budget. The documents mentioned the system of recruitment, performance evaluation and promotion, and compensation and benefits was weak. The contractual employment system introduced in 2004 was becoming unsustainable. Policies and mechanisms for placements and transfers were not properly structured. The technical and managerial skills of civil servants deteriorated over the past two decades. Local governments lacked sufficient capacity for planning, budgeting, and human resource management, given the relatively short time since the launch of the devolution process under the Punjab Local Government Ordinance of 2001.