StrengtheningPovertyReductionStrategyMonitoringPunjab

Pakistan

LaunchReport ProcessOrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBased AnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

RoyalPalmGolfandCountryClub,Lahore 6thJanuary2011

Table of Contents

Page no. Executive Summary Address by the Chief Guest Presentation by Dr. Aisha Ghaus-Pasha Discussants Comments-I Discussants Comments-II Question & Answer Session Comments by the Chief Guest Closing Remarks 01 05 07 19 24 26 28 30

ExecutiveSummary

StrengtheningPovertyReductionStrategyMonitoring(SPRSM)Punjaborganizedalaunchof the report Process Oriented Poverty Focused Gender Based Analysis of Punjab Budget in a local Club on 6th January 2011. The report reviews processes of budget formulation with the objective to see how far poverty and gender concerns are embedded in these processes, proposeschangesinPC1FormandBudgetCallCircular,identifiesthegapsintransferoffunds and utilization; analyses trends in allocations and spending in propoor sectors with a gender lens, assesses the quality of different interventions, and recommends areas where increased allocations should be made. The event was attended by representatives from the academia, governmentdepartments,NGOsanddonors. Dr. Allah Bakhsh Malik, Secretary Literacy Department, Government of the Punjab was the ChiefGuestinthelaunchofthereport.TheChiefGuestinhisinauguraladdressexpressedthat it is heartening to see that now in collaboration with Strengthening PRS Monitoring Punjab, Government of the Punjab is moving towards Gender Responsive Budgeting. He termed the initiativeofProcessOrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBasedAnalysisasaworthwhileonein the sense that it portrays light on not only less affluent marginalized and disenfranchised citizensofthesociety,ithasinparticulartouchedupongenderthatisextremelyimportantin the context of Pakistan. Stating Pakistans situation in terms of Human Development 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 control we detracked but still the government is committed that based on 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, InstituteofPublicPolicyandauthorofthereport.Shefirstintroducedthecontextofthereport 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 conformity with gender sensitive budgeting goals. Classifying various sectors (as per the Federal Poverty Reduction
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Strategy Papers approach) into propoor and nonpropoor and choosing prowomen sectors fromthepropoorsectors,shepresentedtrendsofexpendituresduring200405and200809. Sheshowedthatoverall,propoorexpendituresinthePunjabhavedemonstratedahighannual growthrateof23percent.However,growthinprowomenexpendituresatabout20percent standsabitlower.ShetoldtheparticipantsthattotalpropoorexpendituresofGovernmentof thePunjabin200809was60.5%oftotalexpenditureswhileprowomenexpendituresstoodat 31%oftotalprovincialexpenditures.Inthedevelopmentprogrammefor200910,prowomen allocations were 28.5 % of the total outlay while all propoor sectors had 53 % share. In the total provincial expenditures (budget estimate) for the same year, prowomen expenditures were32%whiletotalpropoorexpenditurewas64%. The author also identified gaps in allocations and expenditures and noticed thatmidyearre allocations tend to result in more cutbacks in education sector, particularly women/girls education.Inherrecommendations,shecalledformorepropoorexpendituresandmoreflow of funds towards prowomen sectors like education, health and water supply and sanitation. She also stressed the need for propoor and prowomen allocations to be targeted to the backward districts of the province. She was of the view that goals of gender mainstreaming requiregreatersensitization.Forthistoachieve,womenlegislatorsshouldplayamoreactive role and capacity needs to be build in programmes like GRAP. 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 spendingofthemoneyneedtobeimproved.Particularly,heobserved,midyearreallocations shouldbeapprovedbythelegislature.Hecriticizedthewaypropoorsectorsaredefinedinthe PRSP.Healsoopinedthatinsteadofincomesupportingprogrammesofvariouskinds,thepoor should be provided with capital tobe a part of the process of economic growth. He warned thatresourcepositionisnotgoingtobeimproveduntilwearereadytotaxtherich.Healso suggested that various interventions falling under the ambit of social protection should be mergedintoasingledepartment.

Dr. Abdul Quddus, Director, Punjab Economic Research Institute, in his comments suggested that roads might 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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methodologyofthereportandeffectivenessofgovernmentalpoliciestoaddresspovertyand genderconcerns,etc.

Dr.AllahBakhshMalik,SecretaryLiteracyDepartment,thenmadefewobservations.Hepraised the proceedings 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 that best thing for economic growth in any polity is certainty and stability of the environmentinwhichweareliving.Inhisview,therayofhopeisthecivilsocietyinthecountry thathasnowstartedtoplayitsroleactively.Hehowevermaintainedthatweneedtoimprove theliteracy,allocatemoreresourcesforthesocialsectorandtothepoorandtoensurethat expenditureisnotmadeonbigroadsbutonfarmtomarketroads.Heexpressedhishopethat bydoingsowewillbeontheroadtoprogressintheyearstocome. Chief Economist Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Taqi wrapped up the launch seminar with his concluding remarks. He explained that though Government of the Punjab is investing large chunks of money into social protection, 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 government of the Punjab has now special focus on development of backwarddistrictsofthePunjab.Heexpressedhishopethatthereportwillreceiveattentionof thepolicymakersanditsrecommendationswillbeactedupon.Endingthelaunchseminar,he thankedUNDPforitscontinuedsupportandthankedalltheparticipantsforgracingtheevent.

 PROCEEDINSOFTHELAUNCHSEMINAR

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, VeryGoodMorningandAssalamoAlaikum! ItisasingularhonortotalktothisaugustgatheringonthelaunchofthereporttitledProcess OrientedPovertyFocusedGenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910. LadiesandGentlemen,

Itisworthwhileinitiativeinthesensethatitportrayslightonnotonlylessaffluentmarginalized and disenfranchised citizens of the society, it has in particular touched upon gender that is extremely important in the context of Pakistan. If we look the Human Development Index, Pakistan is one of the lowest. If we look at the net enrolment ratio that is barely 55 percent againoneofthelowest.IfwetalkofGenderParityIndex,againitisoneofthelowestaround theglobe.Soallthesethingstendthepolicymakerstothinkandconcentratethatparticularly allocationsaremadetothegenderbasedsectorsandbudgetshavetobegendersensitive. Ifweareabletoallocaterightamountofresourcesonthebasisofgenderandnotonlythat;in termsofourruralurbandivide,intermsofourbackwardanddevelopedareasandintermsof ourleastdevelopedandbetterdevelopeddistrictsonlythenthereisarayofhopethatinthe near future we will be aligned with the economic growth and economic development that is required. It is also heartening to see that in collaboration with Strengthening PRS Monitoring Punjab, Government of the Punjab is moving towards Gender Responsive Budgeting. And the credit goestothepresentredistributivecoalitionherebecausethepoliticaleconomyorthepolitical decision making around is committed with resilience to achieve the objectives which are focusedonGenderawarenessandpublicexpendituretrackingsurveys. Over a period of time Punjab has taken a lead as compared to other provinces especially 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.

PresentationbyDr.AishaGhausPasha, Director,InstituteofPublicPolicy

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

Process Oriented Poverty Focused Gender Based Analysis of Punjabs Budget, 2009-10
By Dr. Aisha Ghaus-Pasha Director

Institute of Public Policy

Beaconhouse National University, Lahore

Introduction
Pakistan committed to Poverty Reduction and

Gender 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

TREND IN GENDER RELATED INDICATORS, PUNJAB

MALE Literacy Rate 1990 2008 Combined* Enrolment rate 1990 2008 Fully Immunized Children 1995-96 2007-08 Access to Drinking Water 1995-96 2007-08 Labour Force Participation Rate 1990-91 2007-08
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FEMALE 24.2 59.0 23.6 48.0 47 73 19 28 16.9 25.2

45.5 70.0 36.4 55.8 48 79 19 28 83.6 82.5

* Primary + Secondary

MAGNITUDE OF GENDER INEQUALITY INDEX FOR PAKISTAN (Ratio of Male to Female)

Educational Attainment Index Labour Force Participation Index Gender Inequality Index

1973 1983 1993 2005

148.8 141.5 136.2 112.3

196.7 183.9 172.1 165.9

148.6 141.7 135.9 125.9

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 Punjab
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Recent Reforms in the Planning and Budgetary 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)
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Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP)

Main Budgetary Reforms 1. Engendering the PRSP framework 2. Amending Policy formulation process to make it more gender sensitive 3. Gender review of existing policies 4. Institutionalization of gender based budgeting 5. Adopt gender sensitive budget as an analytical technique 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, creation of new codes for women specific facilities, creation of separate sections in PSDP/ADPs)

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Gender Responsive Budgeting Initiative

Main Activities Awareness raising Gender based budgetary analysis Gender sensitizing the budgetary process Capacity building and Advocacy

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
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List of PRSP Sectors

Pro-Women Sectors
Education Health Population Planning Un-Allocable Roads Highways, & Bridges Natural Calamities & Other Disasters Irrigation Land Reclamation Rural Development Rural Electrification
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Social Welfare Water Supply & Sanitation Food Support Program

Food Subsidies Low Cost Housing Law and Order Administration of Justice Khushal Pakistan

TREND IN PRSP EXPENDITURES

Rs in Billion

200405 Pro-Women Expenditures Total Pro-Poor Expenditures Total Provincial Expenditures Pro-Women Expenditures as % of Total Pro-Poor Expenditures as % of total 67.8 120.4 199.2 34.0 % 60.4 %

200809 141.3 275.4 455.5 31.0 % 60.5 %

Growth Rate 20.2 % 23.0 % 23.0%

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STRUCTURE OF PRO-POOR EXPENDITURE IN PUNJAB, 2008-09

Current Expenditure Rs in Billion Pro-Poor Expenditure Pro-Women Expenditures Unallocable Expenditure Total Provincial Expenditures 163.0 97.7 65.3 282.3 % Shar e 57.7 34.6 23.1 Development Expenditure Rs in Billio n 101.4 32.6 68.8 % Share 58.5 18.8 39.7 100.0

100.0 173.2

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DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN PRO-POOR SECTORS

% of Total

Allocations 2009-10

Projection 2011-12

Pro-Women Unallocable Pro-Poor Sectors Other Sectors Total

28.5 24.9 53.4 46.6 100.0

31.2 26.5 57.7 42.3 100.0

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GAPS IN ALLOCATIONS AND EXPENDITURES IN PRSP SECTORS

Revised as % of Budget
200405 200506 200607 200708 200809

Total Pro-Poor Expenditure Pro-Women Unallocable Other Provincial Expenditure Total Expenditure

104 75 140 109 107

121 85 147 109 113

107 85 120 123 116

77 71 81 109 94

97 96 98 120 109

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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%)

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Impact of Provincial Budget 2009-10

Number of relief measures in the Budget
Salary increase Income & food support Education, health, Agriculture Low cost Housing

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BUDGET ALLOCATION TO PRSP SECTORS IN PUNJAB, 2009-10

2009-10 Allocations (Rs in Billion) % Share 2009-10 Growth Over 200809 (%)

Pro-Women Expenditures Education Health Population Planning Social Welfare Water Supply & Sanitation Food Support Program
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157.8 70.2 58.9 1.6 0.9 11.8 14.2

32.2 14.3 12.0 0.3 0.2 2.4 2.9

21.1 -7.9 39.6 30.2 25.6 20.0 -

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BUDGET ALLOCATION TO PRSP SECTORS IN PUNJAB, 2009-10

2009-10 Allocations (Rs in billion) Un-Allocable Roads highways, & Bridges Natural Calamities & Other Disasters Irrigation Land Reclamation Rural Development Rural Electrification Food Subsidies Low Cost Housing Law and Order Administration of Justice Khushal Pakistan Total Pro-Poor Expenditures Other Sectors 18 Total Provincial Expenditures * As per Provincial Budget Document 157.7 54.7 1.1 28.9 0.2 7.9 12.5 3.6 43.6 5.3 315.8 174.1 489.9 % Share 2009-10 32.2 11.2 0.2 5.9 0.0 1.6 2.6 0.7 8.9 1.1 64.4 35.5 100.0 Growth Over 2008-09 (%) 14.4 8.9 -60.4 10.7 -1.0 418.2 10.1 21.4 19.4 -8.9 7.5

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
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Issue in Implementation Capacity

During 2009-10, over 4000 schemes under implementation including over 3600 on-going and 454 new schemes . Total cost of new schemes was as much as Rs 493 billion as compared to a throw forward of on-going schemes of Rs 304 billion. By the end of 2009-10, Throw forward Annual Development Outlay
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Rs 639 billion Rs 175 billion

Recommendations
Process and Procedures Greater ownership with Departmental/District

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authorities More active involvement of women legislators (womens causus) Improve internal capacity of GRAP Incorporate Gender Impact Statement in PC1 and II and BCC Sensitization of goals of gender mainstreaming in planning and budgeting process GRB Analysis tools capacity within relevant government departments Focus on preparation of Gender Disaggregated Statistics

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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

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Thank You

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DiscussantsCommentsonProcessOrientedPovertyFocused GenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

Mr.RabNawaz,SecretaryIrrigationandPowerDepartment,whowasSecretaryPlanningand Development Department when the budget for 200910 was being made, was invited as a discussanttosharehisobservationsafterthepresentationbytheauthor.Hisremarksaregiven below. BismillahirRahmanirRahim I am personally grateful to Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Taqi for giving me this opportunity. And, whatevergoodorbadyoufindinthis200910budget,Ialsohadaroletoplayinthat.Letme firststartwithwhatIthinkofDr.Aishasstudy.Iamextremelyimpressedbyit.Myonlyissue withthereportisthatitprobablydoesnotcovertothatextenttheoverallmacroenvironment inwhichwemakethesebudgets.And,thatisprobablythemostimportantfactorinhowour budget making take place and because that very process again determines how we treat povertyandhowwetreatgenderissuesthroughourbudgets.

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Ifyouaskmetherearethreelevelsinournationalpolitywhichultimatelydeterminehowwe aretreatingthelessprivilegedsegmentsofoursociety.Oneisthemacrolevelwhichisbasically your politicocultural environment in which we all in various dimensions are operating. And thereisamesolevelwhereallthisbudgetaryallocationsandbudgetsanddifferentinstruments takeplace.Andthenthereisamicrolevelwherethedepartmentscomeinandhowtheyare 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,IhaveseriousissueswithourPovertyReductionStrategyPaper.Becauseifthatis the foundation then its a very wrong foundation because then down the line it is distorting everythingforexample,intermsofallocation,whatwecallthepropoorexpenditures.Ihave anissuewiththat.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. We want to empower the weaker segments of the society to become selfrespecting, more productive people who have more choices, who have much more equitable share in the available resources to improve their own lives. Now for me the most important empowering instrumentinanysocietyistheruleoflawinitsalldimensions.Ifyouhaveruleoflawthenall theselowerlevelinterventionswhethertheyarebudgets,whethertheyarelandrights,women rightstheyallworktogethertobringaboutthechangeyouarelookingat.Thebudgetisone littleinstrumentinwholeschemeofthings.Butifruleoflawisnotinplacewhichunfortunately isthesituationtodaythenrestofthesethingsultimatelydontmakeanydifference.
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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 nationalintegration,tocreateakindofprototypecitizenwhichultimatelyhelpsthesocietyto moveforward.Inoureducationsystemweareverysuccessfullyoverthelastsixtythreeyears createdadivisiveeducationsystem.Thereisaneducationsystemfortheelitewherechildren do their Olevels and Alevels and go abroad and then there is this orphan public education system which itself has six kind of curriculums, which has multiple kind of medium of instruction,youarenotverysurewhichschoolisteachinginwhatlanguage.Andinthatelitist system, budget also ultimately becomes an expression of that elitism.So for PRSP, if you are 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 dimension which Dr. Sahiba very articulately brought it about is the whole issue of dependenceonNationalFinanceCommissionanduncertaintyofthoseresources.Punjabinits size, in its resources, in its population is larger than 80 percent countries in this world. Why shouldPunjabbesomuchdependantonfederalresourcesforitsbudgetmaking?Okaythere arestructuralissuesandmajortaxesareleviedbythefederalgovernment.Whateffortweare makingtogenerateourownresourcesattheprovinciallevel?Weareantitax.Wedontwant to tax the rich. We are reluctant to even rationalize our service charges. [Here he gave the exampleoftheirrigationwaterchargeof130Rs.Peryearperacrewhichhasnotbeenrevised since2003despitehugeincreaseinvalueofagriculturalproduce].Youwillneverhaveenough resourcesbecausetherichdonotwanttopaytaxinthiscountry.Sothenyouwillhavetogo
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toindirecttaxationwhichultimatelyburdensyourfixincomepeople,yourlowestsalarypeople, yourdailywagers. Myfinaltwocommentswillbeaboutthiswholebudget.Howsacrosanctthisbudgetis.AndI willtalkabouttwodimensions.Oneisthesizeofthisbudget.Thesearefakebudgetsontwo counts.One,theyassumethatyouwillcontinuetogetthemoneyfromthefederalgovernment according to NFC and if this does not happen you have no budget. So you are dependent on someone else for very impressive looking budget. The second is they are feel good budgets. Last year it was 160 billion; this year it should be 180 billion. Whether or not we have those extra20billionbutbecausewehavetolookgoodweshouldhaveahigherbudget.Andthat hasveryseriousimplication.Ifyoudonthavetheresourcesforwhatyouareprojectingyouare creating a fake kind of expectation not only among the public representatives who feel that nowtheyshouldbegettingdevelopmentschemesaccordingtothisbudgetforwhichyoudont havethemoney.Andsecondyoualsogetintothisstrapofprofligacybecauseinonemonthor twomonthyouforgetthatyoudidnothaveactuallythemoneyforthismuch.Youarelooking atfiguresandsayreleasethis,releasethatalsoandreleasethatalso. Mylastpoint,whichDr.Sahibahasveryablybroughtoutinherreport,isaboutthesanctityof thisbudget.Atstartoftheyearyoumakethesefigures,howmuchispropoor,howmuchis goingtothewomen.Thenyougototheassemblyandgetitapproved.Inanycivilizedsystem anychangeinthebudgethastogobacktothepeoplewhohaveapprovedit.Butwhatactually happens during the year? There are reappropriations, there are reallocations without any recoursetotheelectedforumwhereyougotyouroriginalbudgetapproved.Thatisjustbeing done on directives. So you start with very impressive figures: this much is propoor and this muchisprowomen.Butatendoftheyearalmosthalfofthatishijackedbythesectorswhich areimportantforthedecisionmakersandwhicharenotnecessarilypropoororprowomen. Now what we need to do to fix this problem? The biggest issue is of commitment and intellectualhonesty.YouhavetobringinprofessionalautonomyinyourinstitutionslikeP&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 poor which are properly targeted; not road sector schemes, irrigation schemes. Which poor personownsland?Howirrigationschemesaregoingtodirectlybenefithim?
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 Finally, a very effective Legislative oversight on the budget utilization is needed. If ADP is approvedbythelegislaturethenitsreviewshouldalsotakeplaceinthelegislatureinsteadof P&DDepartmentorintheofficeofChiefMinister/Secretary. Sothesearefewofmywords.Dr.Sahibathankyouverymuchforthisnicereport.Ithinkitwill add a lot of value to work of P&D Department and hopefully it will be start of much more intellectualandindepthregularanalysisofhowweareusingourresources.

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DiscussantsCommentsonProcessOrientedPovertyFocused GenderBasedAnalysisofPunjabBudget200910

Dr.MuhammadAbdulQuddus,Director,PunjabEconomicResearchInstitute,wasinvitedasa discussantaftertheremarksbyMr.RabNawaz.Hisspeechisreproducedbelow. BismillahirRahmanirRahim HonorableChiefGuest,Dr.AishaGhausPasha,LadiesandGentlemen, AssalamoAlaikum! FirstofallIwanttocongratulatePlanningandDevelopmentDepartmentandSPRSPunjabfor producingthisreportwhichfillsanimportantvoid.Governmentsbudgetsneedtobeanalyzed deeplyfortheirimplicationsforpovertystrickenpeopleandforgendermainstreaming. Letmesharesomeofmyobservationsonthisreport.
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1. The analysis of allocations and expenditures using specific sector codes as used by federalPRSPsecretariatisaverygoodideaandIthinkitwillhelpintheproductionof morereportsonPunjabsprogresstowardspovertyreduction.Theauthorhasherself admitted that the federal government has adopted a liberal definition of propoor sectors.Itoothinkweshouldrevisethisclassification.Forexample,presentlyroadsare included as propoor expenditure. I think only a small part of cost of the roads goes directlytolaborinvolved.Usageofroadscantbesaidasmostlydonebythepoorsowe mightdropitfromourdefinitionofpropoorsectors. 2. Theauthorhashighlightedissuesinutilizationoffunds.Butherfocusislimitedtothin spread of allocation. I think there are many other issues in utilization of funds for exampleproceduraldelaysthatneedtobehighlighted.Moreover,issuesinreleaseof fundshavenotgainedmuchattention.Thesealsoneedtobehighlightedandresolved. 3. The author has mentioned the inability of the departments to generate gender disaggregated data. I think this is very important area and government must move towardsbuildingcapacityinthisregard. 4. Thereporthasagooddiscussionofprocessofbudgetformulation.ButIthinkthatmore focus 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 the genderimpactoftheproposedschemesisconsideredinschemeidentificationandPC forms also do not contain any provision that gender disaggregated analysis is done. I thinkthisistheareawhichneedsurgentattentionofgovernmentofthePunjab. 6. An important issue which the author needs to address here is that should total provincial expenditures be adjusted for transfer to local governments. These transfers form a big share in total provincial expenditures and are obligatory under Provincial FinanceCommissionAwards.Ithinkananalysisofprovincialexpenditureprioritiesmust adjust total expenditures for these transfers; otherwise, the share of expenditures on propoorsectorsintotalprovincialexpenditureswouldbelowershowingafalseimage oflowprovincialpriorityattachedtothesesectors(theauthorherselfadmitsinChapter 5thatduetoabsenceofabreakupoflocalexpenditures...thecomponentofpropoor expenditureislikelytobeunderstated). 7. IalsothinkthatanalysisofMTDFcanalsobeimprovedifsamePRSPcodesarealsoused for development schemes. So I think there is a need to add NAM codes with the developmentschemestoosothatanalysiscouldbeimproved. 8. Thankyou.

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Question&AnswerSession
Afterthediscussantsremarks,thefloorwasopenedforcommentsandquestions. Mrs.ShahidaSaleem,DeanofAppliedSciences,KinnairdCollegeforWomen,Lahoreexpressed hisconcernoverrisingtrendsofruralpovertyinPunjab.Shesaiddespitevariousprogrammes, ruralpovertyinPunjabhasincreasedandaskedwhatarethegovernmentpoliciestoeradicate rural poverty. She also enquired about the criteria for distinction between propoor and pro women. She suspected that there is some overlapping in the sectors defined in these categories. Mr.RabNawazrespondedbysayingthattherearetwowaysinwhichwecanlookatthisthing. One is what can be done immediately to arrest this trend and second is what you can do in longer term to reverse this trend. On the first count, the current programmes for poverty reductionarenotsufficientintermsofcoverage,allocationortheirapproach.Areourpoverty reductionprogrammesareaimedatenablingthepoortocomeoutofpovertytraportheyare justanintravenousdriptomakethemsurvive?Hisviewwasthatourcurrentprogrammesare probably just to give the poor some consolation only. He also pointed to targeting issues for exampleincaseofPunjabgovernmentsincomesupportprogrammeselectionwasdoneonthe basisofMPAswhichisnotverycredible.Hethoughtthatuntilaccesstoproductiveresourcesis providedtothepoor,thingsarenotgoingtoimprove.And,themainproductiveresourceinthe ruralareasisland.HeinformedtheparticipantsthatevennowourShariahCourthassaidthat landreformsareunIslamic.Hestatedthatwehavedoneallsortsofcolonizationinthepast sixtythreeyearsbutnonewasforthepoor.AccordingtoMr.RabNawaz,theonlygoodland schemewasBhuttosfivemarlaschemebecauseoncethepoormovedtotheirownlandthey were able to make their own economic choices. So unless we provide the poor with skills, creditandlandwecannotreduceruralpovertyheadded. Dr. Aisha GhausPasha explained that all seventeen sectors mentioned in the report are pro poor. ThatisthewayPRSPhasdefinedthemrightlyorwrongly.Shesaid,Therewasapoint madethattheseallmightnotbepropoorandIalsomentionedinthereportthatbighighways arenotalwayscontributingverymuchtoalleviatingpoverty.Withinthesepropoorsectors, she added, we have taken those sectors which are benefiting the women disproportionately more e.g. education, health, etc.; so prowomen sectors are subset of propoor sectors. As regardseffectivenessofgovernmentalpolicies,shewasoftheopinionthatthepovertyisrising primarily due to inflation which is a federal government mandate. She informed that we are financingdeficitbyborrowingfromStateBankofPakistanwhichisdirectlyincreasinginflation.

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She was of the view that the proposed Reformed General Sales Tax is not as regressive as borrowingfromSBPasalotofitisonservicessectorwhichmostofthepoordonotuse. Ms.ShaheenAttiqueurRehman,ViceChairperson,BunyadFoundation,askedtheauthorthat howfarhaveshehaslinkedpovertyespeciallygenderbasedwiththeMillenniumDevelopment Goals.Shealsoadvisedtohavedistrictlevelstudieslikethisandhavelargeraudiencestoshare thereportswith.Shealsopointedoutthatcorruptionisaverybigleakageintheentiresystem which should have been shown in the report. She also suggested that women related interventions and programmes, which are currently are scattered, must be consolidated. She alsoaskedaboutfutureoflocalgovernments. Mr.MuhammadAkramRana,PMEOfficer,UNICEFcommentedthatitisneededthatpoverty andgenderissuesareconsideredwhenweapprovedtheschemesandmakethebudget.Sowe needtolookdeeperintothebudgetmakingprocess.HehopedthatP&DDepartmentwillbring outmoreresearchonthistopic. 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. She said there as there is no voice of the poor no one asks why midyear reallocations takes place. She advised legislators to play more active role in this regard. Regarding local governments,shesaidthatthereareservicesthathavetobeprovidedbylocalgovernments. Theproblemsofelitecaptureandcorruptionmustnothinderexistenceoflocalgovernments. They have to be there and they should be strengthened by building their capacity, providing themwithmoreresourcesandbymakingthemaccountable.

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CommentsbytheChiefGuest SecretaryLiteracyDepartment,GovernmentofthePunjab

AftertheQ&Asession,Dr.AllahBakhshMalik,theChiefGuest,madesomeobservationsabout thelaunchseminar.Hepraisedthecontentsoftheproceedingsandrespondedtofewpoints raisedintheseminar. First he spoke about incidence of poverty. 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 that we should not forget that best thing for economic growth in any polity is certainty and stabilityoftheenvironmentinwhichweareliving. About the point of resources raised by Ms. Shaheen AttiqueurRehman, he was of the view thattherearenotrightallocationsfortherightsectorse.g.education,literacy,health,etc.But we all know that there is no paretooptimal utilization of allocated resources he added. He citedDeSotosbookTheOtherPathinwhichDeSotohasinformedthatresourceallocationin
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developingcountriesismadebytheredistributivecoalitionofthatcountrywhichmayconsist ofselectedfewsuchaspoliticians,generals,bureaucratsetc.Hesaidthattherayofhopeisthe civilsocietyinthecountrythathasnowstartedtoplayitsroleactively.Hehowevermaintained thatweneedtoimprovetheliteracy,allocatemoreresourcesforthesocialsectorandtothe poorandtoensurethatexpenditureisnotmadeonbigroadsbutonfarmtomarketroads.He expressedhishopethatbydoingsowewillbeontheroadtoprogressintheyearstocome.

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ClosingRemarksby ChiefEconomist,PlanningandDevelopmentDepartment

Dr. Muhammad Rizwan Taqi, Chief Economist, Planning and Development Department, wrappedupthelaunchseminarwithhisclosingremarks.Hisspeechisreproducedbelow.

BismillahirRahmanirRahim Honorable Chief Guest, Dr. Aisha Ghaus Pasha, respected discussants, distinguished guests, ladiesandgentlemen, AssalamoAlaikum! It was really a great experience for me to participate in this report launch. Listening to the presentationofDr.Aisha,remarksbythediscussantsandlivelyquestionandanswerssession was a very good learning experience. It also gives pleasure to see that various initiatives of Government of the Punjab and others have generated keen interest in the subject which the present report deals with and to see that this event has been able to attract notables of government,academiaandNGOs.
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As you have learned Government of the Punjab, in collaboration with Strengthening Poverty 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 genderlenstoseehowneedsofmenandwomenarebeingaddressed.Inthisconnection,the present report was commissioned by SPRSMPunjab to look, in historical perspective, at process of budget formulation, allocations and utilization of funds with 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 as expenditures on propoor sectors. These include roads and buildings; watersupplyandsanitation;education;health;agriculture;ruraldevelopment;subsidies;and low cost housing etc. These sectors are further classified into prowomen expenditures (i.e. expenditures benefiting women disproportionally more) and unallocable expenditures (i.e. expenditures which cannot be distinguished on the basis of 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, propoor expendituresinthePunjabhavedemonstratedahighannualgrowthrateofalmost23percent. However,growthinprowomenexpendituresatabout20percentstandsabitlowerthanthe overall growth in propoor expenditures. Therefore, the report recommends a case for pro poor expenditure to be targeted towards prowomen sectors. It also makes a case for these expenditurestobetargetedtothebackwarddistrictsoftheprovince. Ashonorablechiefguestmentionedinhisaddress,GovernmentofthePunjabattacheshighest prioritytopovertyreductionandgenderequality.Itremainscommittedtofurtherincreasethe allocations for propoor and prowomen sectors. Government of the Punjab has now special focusondevelopmentofbackwarddistrictsofthePunjab. Though Government of the Punjab is investing large chunks of money into social protection, poverty reduction and empowerment of vulnerable sections in the society such as women, 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
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improvinggovernancesoastoreducepovertyintheprovince. Animportantpointwhichthereportraisesisaboutimportanceofgenderdisaggregateddata rightfromtheschemeidentificationleveltoschemeevaluationlevel.Thegovernmentisnow alsostrivingtobuildcapacityingenderdisaggregatingvariousdataandindicators. Ihopethisreportwillreceiveattentionofthepolicymakersanditsrecommendationswillbe welltaken.IexpectthatfuturebudgetsofthePunjabwillbemorepovertyfocusedandmore gendersensitive. In the end I would like to congratulate all those who joined hands to carry out this study, especiallyUNDPforitscontinuedsupportandcooperation.IalsogratefultotheChiefGuest, Dr. Aisha GhausPasha, respected discussants, and to all of you for gracing this event and makingthiseventsuccessful. Thankyou.

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