Report DR. Aisha Launch

8/3/2019 Report DR. Aisha Launch

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0

LaunchReport

ProcessOrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBased

AnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

RoyalPalmGolfandCountryClub,Lahore

6th

January2011

StrengtheningPovertyReductionStrategyMonitoringPunjab

Pakistan


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Table of Contents

Page no.

Executive Summary 01

Address by the Chief Guest 05

Presentation by Dr. Aisha Ghaus-Pasha 07

Discussants Comments-I 19

Discussants Comments-II 24

Question & Answer Session 26

Comments by the Chief Guest 28

Closing Remarks 30


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1

ExecutiveSummary

StrengtheningPovertyReductionStrategyMonitoring(SPRSM)Punjaborganizedalaunchof

thereport

Process

Oriented

Poverty

Focused

Gender

Based

Analysis

of

Punjab

Budget

in

a

localClubon6th

January2011.The report reviewsprocessesofbudget formulationwith the

objective to see how far poverty and gender concerns are embedded in these processes,

proposeschangesinPC1FormandBudgetCallCircular,identifiesthegapsintransferoffunds

andutilization;analysestrends inallocationsandspending inpropoorsectorswithagender

lens,assesses thequalityofdifferent interventions,and recommendsareaswhere increased

allocations shouldbemade.Theeventwas attendedby representatives from theacademia,

governmentdepartments,NGOsanddonors.

Dr. Allah BakhshMalik, Secretary Literacy Department,Government of the Punjabwas the

ChiefGuestinthelaunchofthereport.TheChiefGuestinhisinauguraladdressexpressedthat

it isheartening to see thatnow in collaborationwith StrengtheningPRSMonitoringPunjab,

Governmentof thePunjab ismoving towardsGenderResponsiveBudgeting.He termed the

initiativeof ProcessOrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBasedAnalysisasaworthwhileonein

the sense that it portrays light on not only less affluent marginalized and disenfranchised

citizensofthesociety, ithas inparticulartouchedupongenderthat isextremelyimportant in

thecontextofPakistan. StatingPakistanssituation in termsofHumanDevelopment Index,

netenrolmentratioandGenderParityIndex,hesaid,allthesethingstendthepolicymakersto

thinkandconcentratethatparticularlyallocationsaremadetothegenderbasedsectorsand

budgetshavetobegendersensitive.

The chief guest added that due to vagaries of nature and some of the things which were

beyond the controlwedetrackedbut still the government is committed thatbasedon the

resources available it will ensure that gender based responsive budgeting continues. He

stressedtheneedforrightallocationsonthebasisofgender,ruralurbandivide,andbackward

anddevelopedareas.

The inaugural address was followed by presentation by Dr. Aisha GhausPasha, Director,

Institute

of

Public

Policy

and

author

of

the

report.

She

first

introduced

the

context

of

the

report

by highlighting Pakistans commitment to Millennium Development Goals and gender

differences in various development indicators. She then briefed the participants about

different government initiatives like Gender Reform Action Plan and Gender Responsive

Budgeting Initiative. Following that she highlighted budget making process in 200910 and

stressed the need to institutionalize the processes to bring greater conformitywith gender

sensitive budgeting goals. Classifying various sectors (as per the Federal Poverty Reduction


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2

StrategyPapersapproach) intopropoorandnonpropoorandchoosingprowomensectors

fromthepropoorsectors,shepresentedtrendsofexpendituresduring200405and200809.

Sheshowedthatoverall,propoorexpendituresinthePunjabhavedemonstratedahighannual

growthrateof23percent.However,growth inprowomenexpendituresatabout20percent

stands

a

bit

lower.

She

told

the

participants

that

total

pro

poor

expenditures

of

Government

of

thePunjabin200809was60.5%oftotalexpenditureswhileprowomenexpendituresstoodat

31%oftotalprovincialexpenditures.Inthedevelopmentprogrammefor200910,prowomen

allocationswere28.5%of the totaloutlaywhileallpropoor sectorshad53% share. In the

totalprovincial expenditures (budget estimate) for the same year,prowomen expenditures

were32%whiletotalpropoorexpenditurewas64%.

Theauthoralso identifiedgaps inallocationsandexpendituresandnoticedthatmidyearre

allocations tend to result in more cutbacks in education sector, particularly women/girls

education.Inherrecommendations,shecalledformorepropoorexpendituresandmoreflow

offunds

towards

pro

women

sectors

like

education,

health

and

water

supply

and

sanitation.

She also stressed the need for propoor and prowomen allocations to be targeted to the

backwarddistrictsof theprovince.Shewasof theview thatgoalsof gendermainstreaming

requiregreatersensitization.Forthistoachieve,women legislatorsshouldplayamoreactive

role and capacityneeds tobebuild inprogrammes likeGRAP.Dr.Aisha also recommended

incorporationofGenderImpactStatementinPCI,PCIIandBudgetCallCircular.Afterwards,discussantssharedtheircommentsonthereport.First,Mr.RabNawaz,Secretary

Irrigation and Power Department, spoke. He said that various procedures in allocating and

spendingof

the

money

need

to

be

improved.

Particularly,

he

observed,

mid

year

re

allocations

shouldbeapprovedbythelegislature.Hecriticizedthewaypropoorsectorsaredefinedinthe

PRSP.Healsoopinedthatinsteadofincomesupportingprogrammesofvariouskinds,thepoor

shouldbeprovidedwithcapitaltobeapartoftheprocessofeconomicgrowth. Hewarned

thatresourceposition isnotgoingtobe improveduntilwearereadytotaxtherich.Healso

suggested that various interventions falling under the ambit of social protection should be

mergedintoasingledepartment.

Dr.AbdulQuddus,Director,PunjabEconomicResearch Institute, inhis comments suggested

that roadsmight not be considered a propoor sector as only a small part of its cost goes

directlytothepoorwhileusageofroadscantbesaidtobemorebeneficialforthepoor.He

also highlighted the need for building capacity in genderdisaggregating various data and

indicators.

A question and answer session ensued. Participants asked various questions regarding


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3

methodologyofthereportandeffectivenessofgovernmentalpoliciestoaddresspovertyand

genderconcerns,etc.

Dr.AllahBakhshMalik,SecretaryLiteracyDepartment,thenmadefewobservations.Hepraised

theproceedings

of

the

seminar

and

responded

to

few

points

raised

in

the

seminar.

First

he

spokeaboutincidenceofpoverty.Henotedthataftertherecentflood,povertyinPakistanhas

enormously risen. He observed, With this kind of poverty, what sort of macroeconomic

stabilityandwhatsortofsecurityandcertaintywecanexpect?Hemaintainedthatweshould

not forget thatbest thing foreconomicgrowth inanypolity is certaintyand stabilityof the

environmentinwhichweareliving.Inhisview,therayofhopeisthecivilsocietyinthecountry

thathasnowstartedtoplayitsroleactively.Hehowevermaintainedthatweneedtoimprove

the literacy,allocatemoreresources forthesocialsectorandtothepoorandtoensurethat

expenditureisnotmadeonbigroadsbutonfarmtomarketroads.Heexpressedhishopethat

bydoing

so

we

will

be

on

the

road

to

progress

in

the

years

to

come.

Chief Economist Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Taqi wrapped up the launch seminar with his

concluding remarks.He explained that thoughGovernment of the Punjab is investing large

chunksofmoney into socialprotection, poverty reduction and empowerment of vulnerable

sections in the society such as women and children, improvement in service delivery and

uplifting of the marginalized groups is not all about allocations and expenditures. Overall

governance is also crucially important if various polices have to bear desired fruits. Punjab

Governmentisalsofocusingonimprovinggovernancesoastoreducepovertyintheprovince.

He also informed that governmentof the Punjab hasnow special focus ondevelopmentof

backwarddistrictsofthePunjab.Heexpressedhishopethatthereportwillreceiveattentionof

thepolicymakersanditsrecommendationswillbeactedupon.Endingthelaunchseminar,he

thankedUNDPforitscontinuedsupportandthankedalltheparticipantsforgracingtheevent.


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4

PROCEEDINSOFTHELAUNCHSEMINAR


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5

AddressbytheChiefGuest,

SecretaryLiteracyDepartment,GovernmentofthePunjab

TheeventbeganwiththerecitationfromtheHolyQuran.Afterwards,Dr.AllahBakhshMalik,

Secretary Literacy Department, Government of the Punjab, who was the Chief Guest at the

launchseminar,wasinvitedtogivetheinauguraladdress.Thetextofhisspeechisreproduced

below:

BismillahirRahmanirRahim

LadiesandGentlemen,

Very

Good

Morning

and

Assalam

o

Alaikum!

ItisasingularhonortotalktothisaugustgatheringonthelaunchofthereporttitledProcess

OrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910.

LadiesandGentlemen,


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6

Itisworthwhileinitiativeinthesensethatitportrayslightonnotonlylessaffluentmarginalized

anddisenfranchised citizensof the society, ithas inparticular touchedupon gender that is

extremely important in the context of Pakistan. Ifwe look theHuman Development Index,

Pakistan isoneofthe lowest. Ifwe lookatthenetenrolment ratio that isbarely55percent

again

one

of

the

lowest.

If

we

talk

of

Gender

Parity

Index,

again

it

is

one

of

the

lowest

around

theglobe.Soallthesethingstendthepolicymakerstothinkandconcentratethatparticularly

allocationsaremadetothegenderbasedsectorsandbudgetshavetobegendersensitive.

Ifweareabletoallocaterightamountofresourcesonthebasisofgenderandnotonlythat;in

termsofourruralurbandivide,intermsofourbackwardanddevelopedareasandintermsof

ourleastdevelopedandbetterdevelopeddistrictsonlythenthereisarayofhopethatinthe

near futurewewillbealignedwith theeconomicgrowthandeconomicdevelopment that is

required.

Itis

also

heartening

to

see

that

in

collaboration

with

Strengthening

PRS

Monitoring

Punjab,

Governmentof the Punjab ismoving towardsGenderResponsiveBudgeting.And the credit

goestothepresentredistributivecoalitionherebecausethepoliticaleconomyorthepolitical

decision making around is committed with resilience to achieve the objectives which are

focusedonGenderawarenessandpublicexpendituretrackingsurveys.

Overaperiodof timePunjabhas takena leadas compared tootherprovincesespecially in

particulartogenderbasedbudgeting.Unfortunately,duetovagariesofnatureandsomeofthe

thingswhichwerebeyondthecontrolwedetrackedbutstillthegovernmentiscommittedthat

based

on

the

resources

available

it

will

ensure

that

its

gender

based

responsive

budgeting

continues.

ImustcongratulateDr.MuhammadRizwanTaqi,theDirectorPERIandImustcongratulateDr.

AishaGhausPashaforthiswonderfulwork.And,Ithinkthatmaverick,mercurialideasthatare

comingupwillultimatelytransformintoactionandtherewillbeawinwinsituation.

Thankyouladiesandgentlemen.


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7

PresentationbyDr.AishaGhausPasha,

Director,InstituteofPublicPolicy

Dr. Aisha GhausPasha, author of the report, made a detailed presentation about

findings

of

the

report.

The

slides

of

the

presentation

are

reproduced

as

under:

By

Dr. Aisha Ghaus-Pasha

Director

Institute of Public PolicyBeaconhouse National University, Lahore

Process Oriented Poverty FocusedGender Based Analysis of Punjabs

Budget, 2009-10


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8

Introduction

Pakistan committed to Poverty Reduction andGender Equality

Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

2. Achieve Universal Primary Education

3. Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

4. Reduce Child Mortality

5. Improve Maternal Health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

7. Ensure Environmental Sustainability

2

TREND IN GENDER RELATED INDICATORS, PUNJAB

MALE FEMALE

Literacy Rate

1990 45.5 24.2

2008 70.0 59.0

Combined* Enrolment rate

1990 36.4 23.62008 55.8 48.0

Fully Immunized Children

1995-96 48 47

2007-08 79 73

Access to Drinking Water

1995-96 19 19

2007-08 28 28

Labour Force Participation Rate

1990-91 83.6 16.9

2007-08 82.5 25.2

* Primary + Secondary3


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9

MAGNITUDE OF GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX FORPAKISTAN

(Ratio of Male to Female)

Educational Attainment

Index

Labour Force

ParticipationIndex

Gender

InequalityIndex

1973 148.8 196.7 148.6

1983 141.5 183.9 141.7

1993 136.2 172.1 135.9

2005 112.3 165.9 125.9

4

Backdrop to the Budget, 2009-10

Adverse Macroeconomic Developments- Slowing

down of Growth, High Inflation (especially food

prices)

Diversion of Public Resources to Law and Order

Shortfall of Revenues /Transfers from Federal

Governments (pre-NFC)

Difficult State of Finances of Punjab5


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10

Recent Reforms in the Planning andBudgetary Process

Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and the

Medium Term Budgetary Framework

Long Term Planning and the Medium Term

Development Framework

Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP)

Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative

(GRBI)6

Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP)

Main Budgetary Reforms

1. Engendering the PRSP framework

2. Amending Policy formulation process to make it moregender sensitive

3. Gender review of existing policies

4. Institutionalization of gender based budgeting

5. Adopt gender sensitive budget as an analyticaltechnique for gender sensitive resource allocation Institutionalize pre-budget dialogue with stakeholders

Gender based review of all sectors

Changes in budget making process (e.g. BCC, creationof new codes for women specific facilities, creation ofseparate sections in PSDP/ADPs)

7


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11

Gender Responsive BudgetingInitiative

Main Activities

Awareness raising

Gender based budgetary analysis

Gender sensitizing the budgetary process

Capacity building and Advocacy

8

Budget Making Process in 2009-10

Non-Development

Development Budget

Identification of Schemes

Approval of Schemes

Execution of Schemes

There is need to institutionalize the processes to

bring greater conformity with gender sensitive

budgeting goals

9


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12

List of PRSP Sectors

Pro-Women Sectors

Education Social Welfare

Health Water Supply & Sanitation

Population Planning Food Support Program

Un-Allocable

Roads Highways, & Bridges Food Subsidies

Natural Calamities & Other Disasters Low Cost Housing

Irrigation Law and Order

Land Reclamation Administration of Justice

Rural Development Khushal Pakistan

Rural Electrification10

TREND IN PRSP EXPENDITURES

Rs in Billion

2004-

05

2008-

09

Growth

RatePro-Women Expenditures 67.8 141.3 20.2 %

Total Pro-Poor Expenditures 120.4 275.4 23.0 %

Total Provincial Expenditures 199.2 455.5 23.0%

Pro-Women Expenditures as % of

Total

34.0 % 31.0 %

Pro-Poor Expenditures as % of total 60.4 % 60.5 %

11


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13

STRUCTURE OF PRO-POOR EXPENDITURE INPUNJAB, 2008-09

Current

Expenditure

Development

Expenditure

Rs in

Billion

%

Share

Rs in

Billion

%

Share

Pro-Poor Expenditure 163.0 57.7 101.4 58.5

Pro-Women Expenditures 97.7 34.6 32.6 18.8

Unallocable Expenditure 65.3 23.1 68.8 39.7

Total Provincial Expenditures 282.3 100.0 173.2 100.0

12

DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN PRO-POORSECTORS

% of Total

Allocations2009-10

Projection2011-12

Pro-Women 28.5 31.2

Unallocable 24.9 26.5

Pro-Poor Sectors 53.4 57.7

Other Sectors 46.6 42.3

Total 100.0 100.0

13


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14

GAPS IN ALLOCATIONS AND EXPENDITURESIN PRSP SECTORS

Revised as % of Budget

2004-

05

2005-

06

2006-

07

2007-

08

2008-

09

Total Pro-Poor Expenditure 104 121 107 77 97

Pro-Women 75 85 85 71 96

Unallocable 140 147 120 81 98

Other ProvincialExpenditure

109 109 123 109 120

Total Expenditure 107 113 116 94 109

14

Analysed over 600 schemes in Education and

Health sectors

Cutbacks more in education, particularly in

women/girls education

Tendency to spread the development outlay

across schemes. Allocations only proportion of

estimated cost (3% to 100%)

15


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15

Impact of Provincial Budget 2009-10

Number of relief measures in the Budget

Salary increase

Income & food support

Education, health, Agriculture

Low cost Housing

16

BUDGET ALLOCATION TO PRSP SECTORS IN PUNJAB,2009-10

2009-10

Allocations

(Rs in Billion)

% Share

2009-10

Growth Over 2008-

09 (%)

Pro-Women Expenditures 157.8 32.2 21.1

Education 70.2 14.3 -7.9

Health 58.9 12.0 39.6

Population Planning 1.6 0.3 30.2

Social Welfare 0.9 0.2 25.6

Water Supply & Sanitation 11.8 2.4 20.0

Food Support Program 14.2 2.9 -

17


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16

BUDGET ALLOCATION TO PRSP SECTORS INPUNJAB, 2009-10

2009-10Allocations

(Rs in billion)

% Share2009-10

Growth Over2008-09 (%)

Un-Allocable 157.7 32.2 14.4Roads highways, & Bridges 54.7 11.2 8.9

Natural Calamities & Other Disasters 1.1 0.2 -60.4

Irrigation 28.9 5.9 10.7

Land Reclamation 0.2 0.0 -1.0

Rural Development 7.9 1.6 -

Rural Electrification - - -

Food Subsidies 12.5 2.6 418.2

Low Cost Housing 3.6 0.7 -

Law and Order 43.6 8.9 10.1

Administration of Justice 5.3 1.1 21.4

Khushal Pakistan - - -

Total Pro-Poor Expenditures 315.8 64.4 19.4

Other Sectors 174.1 35.5 -8.9

Total Provincial Expenditures 489.9 100.0 7.5

* As per Provincial Budget Document18

Evaluated Social Safety Schemes

Wheat subsidy, Sasti Roti, Public Transport, Subsidized

Tractors, Food Support Schemes

Criteria: Gender orientation, Targeting efficiency, Extent

of coverage, Degree of ease of access, Share of program

expenditure of benefits, Adequacy of support, Income

equivalence of transfer, Extent of self financing, Degree

of impact on development

=> Highest scores Wheat: subsidies/Sasti Roti and Public

transport Subsidy

19


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17

Issue in Implementation Capacity

During 2009-10, over 4000 schemes under

implementation including over 3600 on-goingand 454 new schemes . Total cost of new

schemes was as much as Rs 493 billion ascompared to a throw forward of on-going

schemes of Rs 304 billion.

By the end of 2009-10,

Throw forward Rs 639 billion

Annual Development Outlay Rs 175 billion

20

Recommendations

Process and Procedures

Greater ownership with Departmental/Districtauthorities

More active involvement of women legislators(womens causus)

Improve internal capacity of GRAP

Incorporate Gender Impact Statement in PC1 and IIand BCC

Sensitization of goals of gender mainstreaming inplanning and budgeting process

GRB Analysis tools capacity within relevantgovernment departments

Focus on preparation of Gender Disaggregated

Statistics21


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18

Recommendations

Expenditure Allocations

7th NFC Award window of opportunity for

poverty alleviation and gender empowerment

in the province

Specifically focusing on backward districts

Minimise mid-year reallocations

22

Thank You

23


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19

DiscussantsCommentsonProcessOrientedPovertyFocused

GenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

Mr.RabNawaz,Secretary IrrigationandPowerDepartment,whowasSecretaryPlanningand

Development Department when the budgetfor 200910 was being made, was invited as a

discussanttosharehisobservationsafterthepresentationbytheauthor.Hisremarksaregiven

below.


Iampersonallygrateful toDr.MuhammadRizwanTaqi forgivingme thisopportunity.And,

whatevergood

or

bad

you

find

in

this

2009

10

budget,

Ialso

had

arole

to

play

in

that.

Let

me

firststartwithwhatIthinkofDr.Aishasstudy.Iamextremelyimpressedbyit.Myonlyissue

withthereportisthatitprobablydoesnotcovertothatextenttheoverallmacroenvironment

inwhichwemakethesebudgets.And,that isprobablythemost importantfactor inhowour

budget making take place and because that very process again determines how we treat

povertyandhowwetreatgenderissuesthroughourbudgets.


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20

Ifyouaskmetherearethreelevelsinournationalpolitywhichultimatelydeterminehowwe

aretreatingthelessprivilegedsegmentsofoursociety.Oneisthemacrolevelwhichisbasically

yourpoliticocultural environment inwhichwe all in variousdimensions areoperating.And

thereisamesolevelwhereallthisbudgetaryallocationsandbudgetsanddifferentinstruments

take

place.

And

then

there

is

a

micro

level

where

the

departments

come

in

and

how

they

are

implementingtheirbudgetsandwhattheydowiththeirallocations,whatkindofcapacitythey

haveandwhytheyarenotabletoutilizetheirfunds,etc.

Anotheraspectthatshouldhavecomeupmoreloudlyinthisreportistheprofessionalcapacity

and professional autonomy of your two most important departments which deal with the

budgetmakingandthesearetheP&DDepartmentandtheFinanceDepartment.And,againin

this politico cultural environment what kind of professional capability and what kind of

professionalautonomythesetwoinstitutionsenjoy.

Another thing, which I think would have added value to this report is the analysis of

differentiatingbetweentheslogansandthecommitmentsandthereisawholelotofdifference

[betweenthesetwo].Thereisalotofwindowdressingintermsofourcommitments.Starting

fromPRSP, Ihaveserious issueswithourPovertyReductionStrategyPaper.Because ifthat is

the foundation then itsaverywrong foundationbecause thendown the line it isdistorting

everythingforexample, intermsofallocation,whatwecallthepropoorexpenditures.Ihave

an issuewiththat.Howtheyarepropoor.Howtheydirectlybenefitpovertyreduction. Ifwe

have increased the propoor allocations by 23 percent over the last three years what

proportionate poverty reduction has taken place in the province? Logically, it should have

caused some dent in the poverty in the province. Has it happened? And if that has not

happenedthenitshouldhavebeencoveredinthisreportthatwhereistheproblemthen.

Letmegetawayfromthereportalittlebitandsharethethingswhichhesitatedmymindwhen

IwasatthePlanningandDevelopmentDepartment.Whenwetalkaboutpovertyandgender

basedbudgeting,whatwearetalkingabout.Weareessentiallytalkingaboutempowerment.

Wewant to empower theweaker segmentsof the society tobecome selfrespecting,more

productive people who have more choices, who have much more equitable share in the

available resources to improve theirown lives.Now forme themost importantempowering

instrumentin

any

society

is

the

rule

of

law

in

its

all

dimensions.

If

you

have

rule

of

law

then

all

theselowerlevelinterventionswhethertheyarebudgets,whethertheyarelandrights,women

rightstheyallworktogethertobringaboutthechangeyouare lookingat.Thebudget isone

littleinstrumentinwholeschemeofthings.Butifruleoflawisnotinplacewhichunfortunately

isthesituationtodaythenrestofthesethingsultimatelydontmakeanydifference.


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21

Thenistheoverallculturalpoliticalcontextinwhichyouareoperating. Ipersonallyfeelthat

weareapartofveryelitistsystemandbecauseofitalltheinterventionswhichtakeplaceand

all the interventions that do not take place they all have a very strong elitist bias. Look at

education sector for example. In any sensible country, they use their education system for

national

integration,

to

create

a

kind

of

proto

type

citizen

which

ultimately

helps

the

society

to

moveforward.Inoureducationsystemweareverysuccessfullyoverthelastsixtythreeyears

createdadivisiveeducationsystem. Thereisaneducationsystemfortheelitewherechildren

do theirOlevels andAlevels andgo abroad and then there is thisorphanpubliceducation

system which itself has six kind of curriculums, which has multiple kind of medium of

instruction,youarenotverysurewhichschoolisteachinginwhatlanguage.Andinthatelitist

system,budgetalsoultimatelybecomesanexpressionofthatelitism.So forPRSP, ifyouare

buildingtheringroadinLahoreandspendingonethirdoronefourthofyourresourcesonone

schemeinamegacitythatispropoor.Andonceyoudothisanalysisthathowmuchyouare

spendingonthepropoor,Iamsuretheringroadisincludedinthatandyoucancalculatehow

manypooraregettingbenefitoutoftheringroad.

ThenthethirdmajorissueandwhichIthinkthereportwasnotattherightplacetodiscussit

butithasastrongnexuswithitthatyouhavenoadvocateforthepoorinthiscountry.Which

governmentdepartmenttalksaboutthepoor?YouhaveZakat,youhaveBaitulMal,youhave

BenazirIncomeSupportProgramme,youhaveSocialWelfareDepartment.Whoamongthemis

thechampionforthepoor? Whohasthecapacitytoevendefinewhoisthepoorinoursociety

becauseunlessyoudefinewhoisthepoorhowwillyoutargetthepoor.Andonceyoudefine

thepoor,youtargetthepoor,whichdepartmenthasthenthecapacitytohandletheresources

andtomakesurethatyouassistthepoorinamoretargetedmanner.Againineverysensible

countrywheretheyareseriousaboutthepooryouwillfindasocialprotectiondepartmentor

socialprotectionministryetc.whichareconsideredtobethepeopletoberesponsibleforuplift

ofthepoor.Inourcaseitisattenplacestheandultimatelynooneisresponsibleforthat.

Fourth dimensionwhich Dr. Sahiba very articulately brought it about is thewhole issue of

dependenceonNationalFinanceCommissionanduncertaintyofthoseresources.Punjabinits

size, in its resources, in itspopulation is larger than80percentcountries in thisworld.Why

shouldPunjabbesomuchdependantonfederalresourcesfor itsbudgetmaking?Okaythere

arestructuralissuesandmajortaxesareleviedbythefederalgovernment.Whateffortweare

makingtogenerateourownresourcesattheprovinciallevel?Weareantitax.Wedontwant

to tax the rich.Weare reluctant toeven rationalizeour servicecharges. [Herehegave the

exampleoftheirrigationwaterchargeof130Rs.Peryearperacrewhichhasnotbeenrevised

since2003despitehugeincreaseinvalueofagriculturalproduce]. Youwillneverhaveenough

resourcesbecausetherichdonotwanttopaytaxinthiscountry. Sothenyouwillhavetogo


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22

toindirecttaxationwhichultimatelyburdensyourfixincomepeople,yourlowestsalarypeople,

yourdailywagers.

Myfinaltwocommentswillbeaboutthiswholebudget.Howsacrosanctthisbudget is.AndI

will

talk

about

two

dimensions.

One

is

the

size

of

this

budget.

These

are

fake

budgets

on

two

counts.One,theyassumethatyouwillcontinuetogetthemoneyfromthefederalgovernment

accordingtoNFCand ifthisdoesnothappenyouhavenobudget.Soyouaredependenton

someoneelse forvery impressive lookingbudget.The second is theyare feelgoodbudgets.

Lastyear itwas160billion; thisyear itshouldbe180billion.Whetherornotwehave those

extra20billionbutbecausewehaveto lookgoodweshouldhaveahigherbudget.Andthat

hasveryseriousimplication.Ifyoudonthavetheresourcesforwhatyouareprojectingyouare

creatinga fakekindofexpectationnotonlyamong thepublic representativeswho feel that

nowtheyshouldbegettingdevelopmentschemesaccordingtothisbudgetforwhichyoudont

havethemoney.Andsecondyoualsogetintothisstrapofprofligacybecauseinonemonthor

twomonthyouforgetthatyoudidnothaveactuallythemoneyforthismuch.Youarelooking

atfiguresandsayreleasethis,releasethatalsoandreleasethatalso.

Mylastpoint,whichDr.Sahibahasveryablybroughtoutinherreport,isaboutthesanctityof

thisbudget.Atstartoftheyearyoumakethesefigures,howmuch ispropoor,howmuch is

goingtothewomen.Thenyougototheassemblyandgetitapproved. Inanycivilizedsystem

anychangeinthebudgethastogobacktothepeoplewhohaveapprovedit.Butwhatactually

happens during the year? There are reappropriations, there are reallocationswithout any

recoursetotheelectedforumwhereyougotyouroriginalbudgetapproved.Thatisjustbeing

doneondirectives.Soyou startwithvery impressive figures: thismuch ispropoorand this

muchisprowomen.Butatendoftheyearalmosthalfofthatishijackedbythesectorswhich

are importantforthedecisionmakersandwhicharenotnecessarilypropoororprowomen.

Now what we need to do to fix this problem? The biggest issue is of commitment and

intellectualhonesty.Youhavetobring inprofessionalautonomy inyour institutions likeP&D

wheretheycansaynotothingsthatthiswasdecidedandifyouaresayingsomethingtotally

opposite,itcanthappen.

And, you need a kind of social protection department or agency, if you are serious about

poverty.Thewayitiscurrentlyfracturedamongsomanydepartments,youwillneverhavethat

kindofstronginstitutionbasedsystemtohelpthepoortohelpthewomen.

And,youhavetogowithamoretargetedapproach.Iwillonlyacceptthoseexpenditurespro

poorwhich areproperly targeted;not road sector schemes, irrigation schemes.Whichpoor

personownsland?Howirrigationschemesaregoingtodirectlybenefithim?


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23

Finally, a very effective Legislative oversight on the budget utilization is needed. If ADP is

approvedbythe legislaturethen itsreviewshouldalsotakeplace inthe legislature insteadof

P&DDepartmentorintheofficeofChiefMinister/Secretary.

Sothesearefewofmywords.Dr.Sahibathankyouverymuchforthisnicereport.Ithinkitwill

add a lotof value toworkof P&DDepartment andhopefully itwillbe startofmuchmore

intellectualandindepthregularanalysisofhowweareusingourresources.


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24

DiscussantsCommentsonProcessOrientedPovertyFocused

GenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

Dr.MuhammadAbdulQuddus,Director,PunjabEconomicResearch Institute,was invitedasa

discussantaftertheremarksbyMr.RabNawaz.Hisspeechisreproducedbelow.


HonorableChiefGuest,Dr.AishaGhausPasha,LadiesandGentlemen,

AssalamoAlaikum!

FirstofallIwanttocongratulatePlanningandDevelopmentDepartmentandSPRSPunjabfor

producingthisreportwhichfillsanimportantvoid.Governmentsbudgetsneedtobeanalyzed

deeplyfortheirimplicationsforpovertystrickenpeopleandforgendermainstreaming.

Letmesharesomeofmyobservationsonthisreport.


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25

1. The analysis of allocations and expenditures using specific sector codes as used byfederalPRSPsecretariatisaverygoodideaandIthinkitwillhelpintheproductionof

morereportsonPunjabsprogresstowardspovertyreduction. Theauthorhasherself

admitted that the federal government has adopted a liberal definition of propoor

sectors.

I

too

think

we

should

revise

this

classification.

For

example,

presently

roads

are

included aspropoor expenditure. I thinkonly a smallpartof costof the roads goes

directlytolaborinvolved.Usageofroadscantbesaidasmostlydonebythepoorsowe

mightdropitfromourdefinitionofpropoorsectors.

2. Theauthorhashighlightedissuesinutilizationoffunds.Butherfocusislimitedtothinspread of allocation. I think there are many other issues in utilization of funds for

exampleproceduraldelaysthatneedtobehighlighted.Moreover, issues inreleaseof

fundshavenotgainedmuchattention.Thesealsoneedtobehighlightedandresolved.

3. The author has mentioned the inability of the departments to generate genderdisaggregated data. I think this is very important area and government must move

towardsbuildingcapacityinthisregard.

4. Thereporthasagooddiscussionofprocessofbudgetformulation.ButIthinkthatmorefocus is on development expenditure than the current expenditure. As current

expenditure is far greater than development expenditure we should also analyze it

deeply.

5. The author points out that there is no institutional mechanism to ensure that thegenderimpactoftheproposedschemesisconsideredinschemeidentificationandPC

formsalsodonotcontainanyprovision thatgenderdisaggregatedanalysis isdone. I

thinkthisistheareawhichneedsurgentattentionofgovernmentofthePunjab.

6. An important issue which the author needs to address here is that should totalprovincialexpendituresbeadjusted for transferto localgovernments.Thesetransfers

form a big share in total provincial expenditures and are obligatory under Provincial

FinanceCommissionAwards.Ithinkananalysisofprovincialexpenditureprioritiesmust

adjust totalexpenditures for these transfers;otherwise, theshareofexpenditureson

propoorsectorsintotalprovincialexpenditureswouldbelowershowingafalseimage

oflowprovincialpriorityattachedtothesesectors(theauthorherselfadmitsinChapter

5thatduetoabsenceofabreakupoflocalexpenditures...thecomponentofpropoor

expenditureislikelytobeunderstated).

7. IalsothinkthatanalysisofMTDFcanalsobeimprovedifsamePRSPcodesarealsousedfor development schemes. So I think there is a need to add NAM codes with the

developmentschemestoosothatanalysiscouldbeimproved.

8. Thankyou.


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26

Question&AnswerSession

Afterthediscussantsremarks,thefloorwasopenedforcommentsandquestions.

Mrs.ShahidaSaleem,DeanofAppliedSciences,KinnairdCollegeforWomen,Lahoreexpressed

hisconcernoverrisingtrendsofruralpovertyinPunjab.Shesaiddespitevariousprogrammes,

ruralpovertyinPunjabhasincreasedandaskedwhatarethegovernmentpoliciestoeradicate

ruralpoverty.Shealsoenquiredabout thecriteria fordistinctionbetweenpropoorandpro

women. She suspected that there is some overlapping in the sectors defined in these

categories.

Mr.RabNawazrespondedbysayingthattherearetwowaysinwhichwecanlookatthisthing.

One iswhatcanbedone immediately toarrest this trendandsecond iswhatyoucando in

longerterm

to

reverse

this

trend.

On

the

first

count,

the

current

programmes

for

poverty

reductionarenotsufficientintermsofcoverage,allocationortheirapproach.Areourpoverty

reductionprogrammesareaimedatenablingthepoortocomeoutofpovertytraportheyare

justanintravenousdriptomakethemsurvive?Hisviewwasthatourcurrentprogrammesare

probablyjust togive thepoorsomeconsolationonly.Healsopointed to targeting issues for

exampleincaseofPunjabgovernmentsincomesupportprogrammeselectionwasdoneonthe

basisofMPAswhichisnotverycredible.Hethoughtthatuntilaccesstoproductiveresourcesis

providedtothepoor,thingsarenotgoingtoimprove.And,themainproductiveresourceinthe

ruralareasisland. HeinformedtheparticipantsthatevennowourShariahCourthassaidthat

landreforms

are

un

Islamic.

He

stated

that

we

have

done

all

sorts

of

colonization

in

the

past

sixtythreeyearsbutnonewasforthepoor.AccordingtoMr.RabNawaz,theonlygood land

schemewasBhuttosfivemarlaschemebecauseoncethepoormovedtotheirownlandthey

wereable tomake theirowneconomic choices. Sounlessweprovide thepoorwith skills,

creditandlandwecannotreduceruralpovertyheadded.

Dr.AishaGhausPashaexplained thatallseventeen sectorsmentioned in the reportarepro

poor.That isthewayPRSPhasdefinedthemrightlyorwrongly.Shesaid, Therewasapoint

madethattheseallmightnotbepropoorandIalsomentionedinthereportthatbighighways

arenotalwayscontributingverymuchtoalleviatingpoverty.Withinthesepropoorsectors,

sheadded, wehave taken thosesectorswhicharebenefiting thewomendisproportionately

moree.g.education,health,etc.; soprowomen sectorsare subsetofpropoor sectors.As

regardseffectivenessofgovernmentalpolicies,shewasoftheopinionthatthepovertyisrising

primarilydue to inflationwhich isa federalgovernmentmandate.She informed thatweare

financingdeficitbyborrowingfromStateBankofPakistanwhichisdirectlyincreasinginflation.


29/34

27

Shewas of the view that the proposed ReformedGeneral Sales Tax is not as regressive as

borrowingfromSBPasalotofitisonservicessectorwhichmostofthepoordonotuse.

Ms.ShaheenAttiqueurRehman,ViceChairperson,BunyadFoundation,askedtheauthorthat

howfarhaveshehaslinkedpovertyespeciallygenderbasedwiththeMillenniumDevelopment

Goals.She

also

advised

to

have

district

level

studies

like

this

and

have

larger

audiences

to

share

thereportswith.Shealsopointedoutthatcorruptionisaverybigleakageintheentiresystem

which should have been shown in the report. She also suggested that women related

interventionsandprogrammes,whicharecurrentlyarescattered,mustbeconsolidated.She

alsoaskedaboutfutureoflocalgovernments.

Mr.MuhammadAkramRana,PMEOfficer,UNICEFcommentedthat it isneededthatpoverty

andgenderissuesareconsideredwhenweapprovedtheschemesandmakethebudget.Sowe

needtolookdeeperintothebudgetmakingprocess.HehopedthatP&DDepartmentwillbring

out

more

research

on

this

topic.

Mr. Rab Nawaz seconded Ms. Shaheens view that the findings of the report should be

presentedatlargerscaleparticularlywiththeelectedrepresentativesandlocalgovernments.

Dr. Aisha GhausPasha said that we stand committed to MDGs. Recent floods and

macroeconomicsituationhasputusbackbutstillMDGsareourfocussheadded.Sheadmitted

thatissuesofgovernanceandcorruptionhavetobeaddressedforeffectivepovertyreduction.

Shesaidthereas there isnovoiceof thepoornooneaskswhymidyear reallocations takes

place. She advised legislators to play more active role in this regard. Regarding local

governments,she

said

that

there

are

services

that

have

to

be

provided

by

local

governments.

Theproblemsofelitecaptureandcorruptionmustnothinderexistenceoflocalgovernments.

Theyhave tobe thereand theyshouldbestrengthenedbybuilding theircapacity,providing

themwithmoreresourcesandbymakingthemaccountable.


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28

CommentsbytheChiefGuest

SecretaryLiteracyDepartment,GovernmentofthePunjab

AftertheQ&Asession,Dr.AllahBakhshMalik,theChiefGuest,madesomeobservationsabout

the launchseminar.Hepraisedthecontentsoftheproceedingsandrespondedtofewpoints

raisedintheseminar.

First he spoke about incidence ofpoverty.He noted that after the recent flood, poverty in

Pakistan has enormously risen. He observed, With this kind of poverty, what sort of

macroeconomicstabilityandwhatsortofsecurityandcertaintywecanexpect?Hemaintained

thatwe

should

not

forget

that

best

thing

for

economic

growth

in

any

polity

is

certainty

and

stabilityoftheenvironmentinwhichweareliving.

About thepointof resources raisedbyMs.ShaheenAttiqueurRehman,hewasof theview

thattherearenotrightallocationsfortherightsectorse.g.education,literacy,health,etc. But

weall know that there isnoparetooptimalutilizationof allocated resourcesheadded.He

citedDeSotosbookTheOtherPathinwhichDeSotohasinformedthatresourceallocationin


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29

developingcountries ismadebytheredistributivecoalitionofthatcountrywhichmayconsist

ofselectedfewsuchaspoliticians,generals,bureaucratsetc.Hesaidthattherayofhopeisthe

civilsocietyinthecountrythathasnowstartedtoplayitsroleactively.Hehowevermaintained

thatweneedto improvetheliteracy,allocatemoreresourcesforthesocialsectorandtothe

poor

and

to

ensure

that

expenditure

is

not

made

on

big

roads

but

on

farm

to

market

roads.

He

expressedhishopethatbydoingsowewillbeontheroadtoprogressintheyearstocome.


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30

ClosingRemarksby

ChiefEconomist,PlanningandDevelopmentDepartment

Dr.Muhammad

Rizwan

Taqi,

Chief

Economist,

Planning

and

Development

Department,

wrappedupthelaunchseminarwithhisclosingremarks.Hisspeechisreproducedbelow.


Honorable Chief Guest, Dr. AishaGhaus Pasha, respected discussants, distinguished guests,

ladiesandgentlemen,

AssalamoAlaikum!

Itwas really a great experience forme toparticipate in this report launch. Listening to the

presentationofDr.Aisha,remarksbythediscussantsand livelyquestionandanswerssession

was a very good learning experience. It also givespleasure to see that various initiativesof

GovernmentofthePunjabandothershavegeneratedkeen interest inthesubjectwhich the

present report dealswith and to see that this event has been able to attract notables of

government,academiaandNGOs.


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31

Asyouhave learnedGovernmentof thePunjab, in collaborationwithStrengtheningPoverty

ReductionStrategyMonitoring(SPRSM)Punjabisworkingtostrengthenitscapacitytomonitor

implementation on Poverty Reduction Strategy of the provincial government. An important

component of the programme is to analyze public spending in propoor sectors through a

gender

lens

to

see

how

needs

of

men

and

women

are

being

addressed.

In

this

connection,

the

present report was commissioned by SPRSMPunjab to look, in historical perspective, at

process of budget formulation, allocations and utilization of fundswith a focus on goals of

povertyreductionandgendermainstreamingandrecommendchangestoachievethesegoals

ofGovernmentofthePunjab.

As you have seen, this report identifies the gaps in budget making, transfer of funds and

utilization; proposes changes to facilitate government in smoothening of its budget

formulation,allocationsandutilization;analysestrendsinallocationsandspendinginpropoor

sectorswithagenderlens.

Astheauthorhaspresented,thereportfollowsPakistanPovertyReductionStrategyPaperIIin

definingpovertyfocusedsectors.Thereareseventeenbudgetaryheadstheexpendituresunder

which are classified asexpendituresonpropoor sectors.These include roads andbuildings;

watersupplyandsanitation;education;health;agriculture;ruraldevelopment;subsidies;and

low costhousingetc. These sectorsare further classified intoprowomenexpenditures (i.e.

expenditures benefiting women disproportionally more) and unallocable expenditures (i.e.

expenditureswhich cannot bedistinguishedon thebasisof gender). The report shows that

total propoor expenditures in recent years have hovered around 62% and prowomen

expenditures

are

also

a

healthy

33%

of

total

provincial

expenditures.

Overall,

pro

poor

expendituresinthePunjabhavedemonstratedahighannualgrowthrateofalmost23percent.

However,growthinprowomenexpendituresatabout20percentstandsabitlowerthanthe

overall growth inpropoor expenditures. Therefore, the report recommends a case forpro

poorexpenditure tobe targeted towardsprowomen sectors. Italsomakesacase for these

expenditurestobetargetedtothebackwarddistrictsoftheprovince.

Ashonorablechiefguestmentionedinhisaddress,GovernmentofthePunjabattacheshighest

prioritytopovertyreductionandgenderequality.Itremainscommittedtofurtherincreasethe

allocations forpropoorandprowomen sectors.Governmentof thePunjabhasnow special

focuson

development

of

backward

districts

of

the

Punjab.

ThoughGovernmentof thePunjab is investing largechunksofmoney into socialprotection,

poverty reduction and empowerment of vulnerable sections in the society such aswomen,

children and minorities, improvement in service delivery and uplifting of the marginalized

groups is not all about allocations and expenditures. Overall governance is also crucially

importantifvariouspoliceshavetobeardesiredfruits.PunjabGovernmentisalsofocusingon


34/34

improvinggovernancesoastoreducepovertyintheprovince.

An importantpointwhichthereportraises isabout importanceofgenderdisaggregateddata

rightfromthescheme identification leveltoschemeevaluation level.Thegovernment isnow

also

striving

to

build

capacity

in

gender

disaggregating

various

data

and

indicators.

Ihopethisreportwillreceiveattentionofthepolicymakersand itsrecommendationswillbe

welltaken.IexpectthatfuturebudgetsofthePunjabwillbemorepovertyfocusedandmore

gendersensitive.

In the end I would like to congratulate all those whojoined hands to carry out this study,

especiallyUNDPfor itscontinuedsupportandcooperation. IalsogratefultotheChiefGuest,

Dr. Aisha GhausPasha, respected discussants, and to all of you for gracing this event and

makingthis

event

successful.

Thankyou.

Report DR. Aisha Launch

Documents

Transcript of Report DR. Aisha Launch