Friends of Democratic Pakistan: Foreign technical assistance drained finances, report
International donors group says Pakistan faces challenge to ensure a smooth electoral transition.
The report added that over 30% of Pakistanis need electricity and 80% has no access to piped gas. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
A Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) report looking into assistance provided by international donor countries noted that technical assistance by them wasted money and resulted in the repatriation of capital back to partner countries.
It recommended Pakistan engage international partners to promote a sustainable model for capacity building of its institutions.
At present, partners such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and Islamic Development Bank focus mainly on consultancies, services and training. The report pointed out that short-term capacity building programmes seldom yielded positive results and the approach should be replaced with long-term sustainable development programmes.
Separately, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is also likely to give his stamp of approval to the FoDP report as it is published on Thursday, which has also called for transparent and free elections after parliament completes its tenure.
A draft of the unpublished report available with The Express Tribune revealed that as the current parliament was about to complete its tenure, another key challenge for Pakistan was to ensure a smooth electoral transition. “Free and transparent elections will be the vehicle of this transition,” it said.
It wants Pakistan to maintain a sustained partnership with FoDP countries to bring institutional reforms to improve agriculture, energy, governance, education and democracy.
The report was prepared by Senator Sughra Imam and her team in consultation with FoDP partners who have supported and endorsed the report demonstrating the success of the partnership. It outlines a roadmap of cooperation between Pakistani and FoDP institutions.
“FoDP countries can play an important role in supporting Pakistan’s democratic institutions. Partnership and linkages between Pakistan’s democratic institutions like parliament, political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan, civil society and counterparts in FoDP countries can help develop a stronger democracy in Pakistan,” the report added.
Devising a financing mechanism as part of capacity-building exercises could become sustainable once donor money dries up.
One such example is the University of Health Sciences. It was entirely donor dependent on both the Pakistani government and international partners. But today, it generates 70% of its revenue through a series of fund-raising activities.
The report added that over 30% of Pakistanis need electricity and 80% has no access to piped gas. Electricity outages range from eight to 20 hours a day in urban and rural areas, respectively. Electricity prices rose 100% in the last four years due to power generated through expensive imported fuel.
Access to higher education for people between 17 and 23 years of age is only 7%. The education policy of 2009 called for an increase in access to 10% by 2015 and 15% by 2020. However, this poses a big challenge for Pakistan due to its limited financial resources.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.
A Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) report looking into assistance provided by international donor countries noted that technical assistance by them wasted money and resulted in the repatriation of capital back to partner countries.
It recommended Pakistan engage international partners to promote a sustainable model for capacity building of its institutions.
At present, partners such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank and Islamic Development Bank focus mainly on consultancies, services and training. The report pointed out that short-term capacity building programmes seldom yielded positive results and the approach should be replaced with long-term sustainable development programmes.
Separately, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf is also likely to give his stamp of approval to the FoDP report as it is published on Thursday, which has also called for transparent and free elections after parliament completes its tenure.
A draft of the unpublished report available with The Express Tribune revealed that as the current parliament was about to complete its tenure, another key challenge for Pakistan was to ensure a smooth electoral transition. “Free and transparent elections will be the vehicle of this transition,” it said.
It wants Pakistan to maintain a sustained partnership with FoDP countries to bring institutional reforms to improve agriculture, energy, governance, education and democracy.
The report was prepared by Senator Sughra Imam and her team in consultation with FoDP partners who have supported and endorsed the report demonstrating the success of the partnership. It outlines a roadmap of cooperation between Pakistani and FoDP institutions.
“FoDP countries can play an important role in supporting Pakistan’s democratic institutions. Partnership and linkages between Pakistan’s democratic institutions like parliament, political parties, the Election Commission of Pakistan, civil society and counterparts in FoDP countries can help develop a stronger democracy in Pakistan,” the report added.
Devising a financing mechanism as part of capacity-building exercises could become sustainable once donor money dries up.
One such example is the University of Health Sciences. It was entirely donor dependent on both the Pakistani government and international partners. But today, it generates 70% of its revenue through a series of fund-raising activities.
The report added that over 30% of Pakistanis need electricity and 80% has no access to piped gas. Electricity outages range from eight to 20 hours a day in urban and rural areas, respectively. Electricity prices rose 100% in the last four years due to power generated through expensive imported fuel.
Access to higher education for people between 17 and 23 years of age is only 7%. The education policy of 2009 called for an increase in access to 10% by 2015 and 15% by 2020. However, this poses a big challenge for Pakistan due to its limited financial resources.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2013.