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ThE L@$T Le@F · #1 Monday, February 16, 2009

The poverty challenge

There is more bad economic news to add to an already very depressing national scenario. According to the Planning Commission Pakistan’s poverty rate has jumped from 23.9 to 37.5 percent in the last three years. The commission has estimated that in 2005 there were 35.5 million people living below the poverty line but in 2008 their number swelled to over 64 million. The phenomenon, described in statistical terms by the Planning Commission, is a stark daily reality for the common man. What with rising unemployment, high prices and chronic shortages of edibles and other essential items, more and more people are sliding below the poverty line everyday. Joblessness is driving many to commit suicide and others to take to a life of crime.

The Planning Commission has cited high inflation, shortages, unemployment and business closures among the many factors responsible for the spurt in national poverty. There has been a sharp reduction of 100 billion rupees in the social sector budget which has badly affected development activities. What has further worsened the situation is the extraordinary slow pace of expenditure and utilisation of the resources allocated under the current year’s public sector development programme. The present government must explain why during the first six months of the current year only 19 percent of the PSDP budget of Rs 371 billion has been spent. This is criminal negligence and inexcusable failure by the concerned authorities at a time of national emergency and growing misery across the land. The prime minister must call to account those guilty of the lapse so that an example is set for others. We are already in the eighth month of the current fiscal year and there is no further time to lose. To this end a special committee of the cabinet should be set up to oversee the speedy utilisation of the budgetary allocations and timely completion of development projects in various sectors to mitigate the hardships faced by the people.

Rising poverty comes as another stark reminder of how far Pakistan lags behind other countries in the field of socio-economic development. Pakistan occupies the 136th position among 177 countries listed in the human development index and lags behind even Bhutan and the Maldives in South Asia. Given Pakistan’s vast resources in men and material this is a shame. What lies ahead is more misery and more poverty. Experts are of the opinion that if Pakistan totally submits to the new conditionalities imposed by IMF, the country will sink deeper into poverty and miss all the millennium development goals. Is the present government listening?

The government should launch a massive effort for job creation and employment generation to stem the tide of rising poverty. One obvious choice is infrastructure development – building new roads and bridges and highways. Housing is another sector which needs to be promoted and encouraged through a well planned incentives package. Mass housing will not only give a boost to all related industries but will go a long way to meet the acute housing shortage in the country. In the field of transport the government can start modern bus systems to provide employment to a large number of people in all major cities. In the textile, engineering and other export-oriented industries vendor units should be encouraged through liberal bank loaning on easy terms. This is the only way the spectre of poverty can be banished.

source:http://www.thepost.com.pk