Human and financial capital key to economic growth for Pakistan: Deputy Country Director -UNDP

"Market-driven employment generation in Pakistan faces two main hurdles" highlighted Deputy Country Director UNDP, Jean-Luc Stalon. In an exclusive interview with BR Research, he elaborated: first, there is a dearth of key skills and competencies among many of the poorer segments of the population, especially the youth, and secondly, they do not have access to financial capital which is vital for the expansion of business.
"The issue is that poor don't have the minimum base that can drive them out of poverty. We need to support the poor to build that minimum base in the form of improved skills and access to resources, so that we may curb social and economic inequalities," said Stalon.
The senior UNDP official believes that a significant change in the "development thinking" has been observed in the country over the past three years. "There is an increasing realisation that growth has remained volatile and unsustainable even during periods of relative economic and political certainty and efforts are now more focused on how to bring long-term sustainability and stability to economic growth in the country," he said.
Though he conceded that the rate of economic growth in the country has declined in recent times, when compared to regional peers; Stalon, however, added that the Planning Commission of Pakistan is cognisant of this fact and has taken practical steps to put the country on track of sustained economic growth.
"The New Economic Growth Strategy developed by the Planning Commission of Pakistan and its decision to transform the UNDP supported 'poverty centre' into an 'inclusive growth centre' is an evidence of the Government's priority to spur growth in the country.
"What I see in the proposed growth strategy is that there is that element of Government's commitment to promote inclusive growth. It is heartening to see efforts to promote entrepreneurship, especially focusing on youth and to account for urban as well as rural populations that are stricken by poverty," said Jean-Luc Stalon.
UNDP was instrumental in the development of the new growth strategy which was subsequently adopted by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) and will continue providing support to the Government in the rollout of this important strategy, Stalon underlined.
"In Pakistan, small and medium enterprises play an important role in poverty alleviation in both rural and urban settings," he said, adding that "the focus of the growth strategy to create an enabling environment for private enterprises, especially small businesses, is very relevant." Stalon highlighted the importance of growth in small enterprises for creating job opportunities.
UNDP's mandate and achievements
"Pakistan is very high on the agenda for UNDP given the fact that it is one of the largest countries of the world in terms of population and that the level of poverty is significantly high, addressing which is one of the primary mandates of UNDP," said Stalon, adding: "This is the reason why the number of UNDP officials in Pakistan is among the highest in the world."
Explaining the mandate of the United Nations Development Programme in Pakistan, Jean-Luc Stalon said "UNDP co-ordinates broader efforts at the country levels with regard to the achievement and monitoring of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)".
He added "UNDP provides capacity development support at all levels-policy, institutional and grass-roots, to reduce poverty, promote good governance, address energy, climate change and environmental issues." He also said that crisis prevention and recovery also fall within the ambit of UNDP's mandate.
This includes, for example, UNDP projects necessitated by natural calamities such as flooding as well as man-made disasters such as bombings. "We do not just implement projects; but also advise the government in terms of desirable policy reforms," he summed up.
NUMBERS NECESSARY
The official poverty figure is only available until 2005-06 which was 22.3 percent. Thereafter poverty figure has not been officially released by the Government. While head count poverty in Pakistan declined during 2000-01 to 2005-06, anecdotal evidence and findings by some non-public institutions suggest that poverty in Pakistan increased during the last 2-3 years mainly due to high commodity prices and slow economic growth.
"To more closely analyse the poverty situation in the country, there is an urgent need for fresh data; like the Household Income and Expenditure data, to have an update on the status of poverty in the country," he contended. "Numbers on household incomes and expenditures can reveal a lot more about the state of poverty in the country," said Stalon. However, he warned that simply collecting data on poverty can be distracting since the real task at hand is the generation of inclusive economic growth that can help in poverty reduction.
"A double-track approach to poverty alleviation is crucial because, on one hand, you need policy reforms while, on the other, you need social safety nets to support vulnerable sections of the society. Benazir Income Support Programme and similar initiatives by some of the provincial governments are commendable," Stalon noted. He added that "the country's government needs more efforts along similar lines to bridge immediate needs of vulnerable groups while it works on medium-term poverty alleviation measures".
STEPPING UP SUPPORT
UNDP has stepped up its financial support to the country and its operations here dramatically in recent years. Stalon highlighted that as various agencies of the UN stepped in to help in the wake of floods in the country, "UNDP's support has climbed from $35 million to more than $100 million".
Now that relief and rescue efforts have largely been concluded, the official says: "UNDP is now increasingly focused on reconstruction and rehabilitation activities including support for agriculture and micro credit for other productive activities; rebuilding of canals, small roads and other vital structures as well as assisting in the resurrection of local administration in affected areas".
PROVINCES AND MDGs
UNDP is also working to influence socio-legal environment in the country. Listing the initiatives undertaken by UNDP to bolster the country's socio-legal environment, Stalon conceded that "Pakistan is lagging behind in the attainment of all Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) except addressing gender inequality." He added that all provinces are currently in the process of conducting their own assessments to provide a clearer picture in terms of efforts to attain MDGs and their effectiveness so far. However, he lamented that the country would, in every likelihood, miss "all seven MDGs" if the current pace of progress continues.
"In the wake of the 18th Amendment, it has become crucial to co-ordinate with each of the provinces in pursuit of the MDGs," said Stalon. He noted that there exists "substantive gaps between the provinces" in terms of poverty, infant mortality, access to education and other key indicators".
Similarly, the rule of law programme initiated by UNDP seeks to "make justice accessible and to teach people about their rights as well as other aspects of law. Regarding flood operations, he highlighted that "there are about 750,000 IDPs, who were displaced from FATA and a needs-assessment study is currently being conducted to identify the priorities for their support".
Stalon also said that UNDP is assisting in the strengthening of the Election Commission as an independent and transparent institution. "We believe that the Election Commission needs to be ready for the elections scheduled in 2013, so we are helping to reform the institution and train its staff in various relevant aspects," revealed Stalon.
Stalon said that "the immense development challenge in Pakistan, notwithstanding, this country has a huge potential to be one of the regional leaders on economic growth and human prosperity."
"I am very much touched by the hospitality and co-operation of the people during my so far stay in Pakistan. With some of the recent constitutional and policy changes in the country, I am confident that Pakistan will soon be back on the path of development," Jean-Luc Stalon concluded.
Jean-Luc has 17 years of working experience with the United Nations and has served in Africa, the Pacific region and South Asia. He is specialised in post conflict/crisis programming and has published several policy articles on political/economic issues. He has also published a book on Rwanda on constructing democracy in divided societies.