ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on Monday held a roundtable conference to get inputs and proposals from the country’s top economists, key development stakeholders and donors before sending a comprehensive flood rehabilitation plan to the prime minister for approval.
The objective of the conference was to get inputs for the implementation of short- and long-term rehabilitation plans for the flood-affected people.
While addressing the conference, federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said the government is committed to protecting the affected people even though the scale of the disaster is huge.
He said an action-oriented plan to rebuild the affected areas of the country in which short- and long-term plans will be executed between six months to 10 years. He also urged the experts to share their ideas so a rehabilitation plan could be implemented immediately.
The roundtable conference was attended by the additional secretary Ministry of Planning, chief economist, all members of the Planning Commission, economists, and donors.
The chief economist, in his briefing, informed the participants that around $ 3 billion was the losses due to the floods which had badly affected the country’s agriculture and infrastructure sector. He said that various ministries have been sharing damage assessment reports which will help in the rehabilitation plan and the value of losses will increase in the future.
Speaking at the occasion, the minister said that the recent floods have not only claimed lives but also affected infrastructure and livelihood at a mega scale. He said that the government has taken a number of initiatives as federal and provincial governments have been doing rescue operations since the floods began.
The immediate challenge is the early recovery of the flood-affected people as the agriculture sector has been affected badly which will have a negative impact on our economy which needs to be addressed immediately, said the minister, appreciating the ideas shared by various development stakeholders.
He said that the sectors which have potential should be given a top priority, especially in the most-affected districts of the country.
Dr Adnan Rafiq, member governance Planning Commission suggested that the owner-driven reconstruction approach should be adopted with effective mechanisms to ensure compliance with the building codes developed by the government. He also argued that vulnerable groups should be prioritised in the rehabilitation process which includes women and youth.
Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, who heads Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), suggested the government to start the rehabilitation process at the district level which he believed is a more effective way to start the rehabilitation process.
The participant also suggested focusing on Sindh’s land which remained an agriculture basket and positive results could be taken through this sector.
Aqdas Afzal, program director at Habib University emphasised the importance of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).
The minister appreciated the ideas and assured the participants to incorporate their ideas with the rehabilitation plan before sending it to the prime minister.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022