Provinces discard PM’s development package

Development packages are mostly politically driven. Differences, however, are in the manner in which they are implemented. In a recent report, an outgoing UNDP official admitted that spending is restricted to a few districts and remains politically-driven. So when one hears that Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) have held back their support for the PM’s Sustainable Development Goals Programme, which was approved by the cabinet at its meeting on August 31, one isn’t shocked or even surprised.

The programme envisioned provinces would come together, share their resources and help achieve the sustainable development agenda. The centre would provide initial support and suggested that solar projects be launched in Sindh and K-P as a means to convince their reluctant governments. The PML-N, the ruling party that enjoys a majority in the country’s largest province, insisted that provinces would need to come on board without which success of the programme would be difficult. However, the two provinces, whose governments sit in the opposition, remained unimpressed and unconvinced. Their argument remains that the programme is meant to win voters and is part of the election campaign.

Obviously, anything any government does is part of its aim to win back voters or keep the existing vote bank intact. The issue is not about the PML-N looking to win back its support. Sindh and K-P are concerned with the centre keeping a stranglehold on the vote bank that they think is up for grabs. If the PML-N, which has transparently kept the name of the programme as the PM’s development goals programme, is driven by political means, then the two opposing provinces are also holding back their support for the same reason.

If their argument had been based on logistics or finances, they know the premise would have been weak. Instead, what remains Pakistan’s curse is that arguments continue to be driven politically and development agenda remains restricted. Overall inclusion of the country’s backward areas and neglected groups continues to be on the back burner and never the focal point of discussions. The worst part of all this is that the same provinces fail when it comes to developing their areas.

So when exactly are citizens supposed to reap the benefits of development. When Sindh and K-P announced their budgets, their emphasis was on how they have increased allocations for various sectors. However, their released amounts remain much less than what was allotted, and the actual spending very rarely is translated into on-ground progress. In such a scenario, how exactly is Pakistan’s progress going to be achieved. When was the last time provinces and the federal government reached an agreement that benefited those people who need it the most? Pakistan may be divided into provinces, but it’s the ruling parties that insist on maintaining the divide. Why else would one province be able to make much more progress than most others? Why else would one city outshine all others even within one province? These are easy questions to answer, but difficult to address.

Pakistan continues to suffer from division and lack of consensus. Why don’t political parties focus on their subjects, which they have won fair and square, first before they look to move on to bigger things? Budgets announced each year feature greater allocations for each sector than the previous year, yet progress is nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, if the centre comes up with a plan for inclusive growth, provinces don’t want to be part of that either. When exactly is the suffering going to ease? There is a need for mutual cooperation, but that won’t happen when all stakeholders clash over personal gains.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 24^th, 2016.

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