Wasted loans

Punjab has wasted $409 million reforms loan, according to ADB

It comes as little surprise that an Asian Development Bank (ADB) independent evaluation report has found that Pakistan’s performance has been disappointing when it comes to implementing reforms, despite loans worth $409 million being advanced by the Manila-based lending agency for that purpose. While the report took a swipe at Punjab, it also found the country’s overall assessment to be less than successful as it evaluated the performance ratings of assistance programmes. Pakistan has been known to waste away loans, either by not utilising them to implement deep-rooted reforms or pursuing projects that are hit by snags in the long run.

The report says that Punjab, despite pursuing an overzealous reforms agenda, failed to achieve economic growth, reduce poverty and transform the civil services. The government might blow the trumpet on some development projects, but the fact is that Pakistan lacks adequate skills to utilise advanced technology. The agriculture sector is a prime example where meaningful progress could have been made, but traditional hindrances have meant that farmers continue to lag behind in the development race. Economic growth and prosperity could go hand in hand if a larger section of the population is included in the process of taking the country forward. However, the state of affairs in Punjab tells us that the fruits of development have remained restricted to a select bunch. The ADB report, which covered events from 2008, also took into account floods and the global financial crisis that hindered reforms. However, it added that the envisaged impact of sustained economic growth was not achieved in Punjab because sustainable measures were never taken. These take time and show results over subsequent decades. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, governments don’t tend to look beyond their own terms. They want results during their tenure so that they can ‘prove’ their case for re-election. This approach is not just limited to Punjab. The entire country suffers from it. Sadly, a government-propelled economic turnaround with long-lasting impact is yet to be witnessed in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th,  2015.

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