Poverty in Pakistan to be reduced by 20 pc: PM
By Sheraz Afzal - Pakistan Times Staff Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) is expected to rise from the existing 202 billion to 2094 billion in 2009-10, 7% of the GDP.
It has been decided in a meeting of National Economic Council (NEC), held in Islamabad Thursday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in the chair.
Addressing the Council, Shaukat Aziz said 2094 billion rupees to be spent under public sector development programme during the next five years, 1133 billion rupees would be on infrastructure, 655 billion for social sector, 240 billion on removing regional disparities and 66 billion on production.
Later, briefing newsmen, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Muhammad Akram Sheikh said GDP growth rate is expected to be over 7% this year while it would be maintained at the level of 8% during the next five years.
He was confident that as a result of the measures being taken by the Government, poverty would be reduced from 32.1% in 2000-01 to 20% in 2010.
The Focus
The Council has decided to focus on water, energy security, infrastructure development, medium-term development framework and human resource development to achieve the objective of a developed, industrialised, just and prosperous Pakistan.
The Planning Commission presented Medium Term Development Framework 2005-10 before the Council, which is likely to be finalised in its next meeting in May after incorporating suggestions from provinces and other stakeholders.
Shaukat Aziz said under the medium term plan, organised and disciplined movement would be made towards an efficient, balanced, internationally competitive, environment-friendly and technologically driven knowledge economy. This would help realise the objective of sustained growth to become an industrialised nation in 25 years.
He said the plan also aims at evolving a mature, tolerant, democratic society imbibed with Islamic values of moderation and enlightenment.
Total Investment
Total investment to go up from 1.2 trillion during the current financial year to 8.8 trillion rupees in 2009-10 while national saving would rise from 1.1 to 8 trillion rupees.
Fiscal deficit would decline from 3.7% to 3.2% and current deficit to rise from 1.19% of GDP to 1.99% of GDP. Tax collection would go up from 10.7% of GDP to 11.8% of GDP and inflation would be kept around six per cent.
The Prime Minister said an extensive programme for development of water resources has been prepared. It envisages increasing water availability by 14.67 million acre feet; bringing 3.2 million acre additional area under irrigation, reclamation of 3 million acre feet of disastrous area, improvement of 68,500 water courses and completion of 453 kilometres of embankments.
Under the energy security plan, additional generation capacity of 7100 MW would be developed by 2010, number of oil and gas wells to be drilled will be more than doubled and two hundred thousand gas consumers would be added per annum.
He said in transport and communication, regional connectivity will be improved, including links to Central Asian States, Iran, Afghanistan and India. Railways would be revitalised by transforming it into a commercially oriented entity. Ports and airports would be upgraded and major expansion of telecom network undertaken.
GDP growth target
Shaukat Aziz expressed the confidence that the GDP growth target this year would exceed in view of record cotton output of 14.6 million bales while the wheat output target of 20.2 million tonnes would also exceed because of timely winter rains.
Similarly, growth of large-scale manufacturing was 16.1% in first six months of the year, foreign investment rose by 51% and exports grew by 10.5% in six months. Remittances in seven months were 2.3 billion dollars and reserves stood at 12.6 billion dollars on first of this month.
The NEC also reviewed the status of the implementation of development projects and noted that out of 44.4 billion rupees released in first six months of the year, 36.2 billion or 81% have been utilised.●