Road Sector Development Programme: ADB urges coordination through national organisation

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of its ongoing lending to the road sector in Pakistan will continue its policy of dialogue with the government for the Road Sector Development Programme (RSDP). A national institution with core staff committed to road safety programmes, including research and development (R& D) in road safety, is needed, said the ADB.
There is also a need to co-ordinate, through relevant federal and provincial government organisations, for implementation of the road safety programme on the entire road network, ADB urged on Pakistan. In a project assessment report on the RSDP, the ADB observed that the funds being allocated might not be sufficient to utilise optimally, while institutional capacity building is also required to improve the system.
While preparing future programmes, the ADB report recommended setting up of programme targets so that they are clearly measurable and quantifiable. If any of the programme components require a set of loan covenants, these should be clearly aligned with their outcomes. The programme reviewed by the ADB should emphasise close monitoring of the executing agency and ensure continuity of staff in the administration team.
The report further mentioned that the objectives of policies are generally achieved and most of the policy actions were complied with, except for road safety. National transport policy formulated by the Minister of Commerce with the ADB assistance is being submitted for cabinet's approval, he said adding that additional funds and TA are required to transform the transport policy document into an implementation document for each sector.
Some of the road safety policy actions were not fully implemented and were partially complied with. No comprehensive road safety framework has been developed for the entire road network due to lack of funds and co-ordination among the institutions involved. Further, policy reforms related to road sector resource management, road asset preservation, and institutional efficiency improvements were implemented well.
In general, the ADB report stated that the Programme was implemented as conceived. However, the Pakistan Government should ensure that the policy reforms are continued in the long term to ensure sustainable operations as the design of the Programme and monitoring framework were given adequately. However, continued implementation of some of the reforms has suffered in absence of funds.
Considering overall progress made in achieving the effectiveness, efficiency and impact of the policy conditions, the policy programme can be rated, satisfactory. One of the basic problems in the sector is the lack of co-ordination, collaboration, and co-operation among the involved government agencies.
This needs to be addressed before implementing policy reforms that require the participation of inter-ministerial departments. Different types of roads are under provincial and district governments. In addition, the ADB emphasised the need for legislative dialogue to implement policy reforms for the entire country. The Programme as conceived was good.
However, the Borrower did not fully analyse the resources required for implementation of some components, which started but could not continue because of lack of funds. This will result in wasted scarce resources if not implemented in a sustainable manner. Continuity would depend on establishing stable source of funds to finance the components, report mentioned.
The ADB also urged that the policy programme should have been implemented with TA-particularly for the transport policy and road safety. However, transport policy TA was later sponsored on the Government's request and this has contributed to the national transport policy document. Road safety component was included in a pursuant intervention (NWFP) but was not implemented due to the difficult location.
The ADB is in discussion with the Government to implement the component in another province. Commenting over the future monitoring, the report stated that Pakistan Government has made considerable progress in meeting the policy actions. Most of the policy actions have been fulfilled and some require the intervention of inter-ministerial departments.
However, three outstanding road safety issues require the Government's attention to strengthen and sustain the reform. Three first tranche conditions require further actions to ensure full compliance. Therefore, the Government should accelerate efforts to establish the (i) accident reporting centre, (ii) drivers' instructor training school and (iii) accident evaluation laboratory, it suggested.
According to ADB report, the covenants and conditions have been generally complied with but some of them have been only partly complied with. There are no target dates included in the covenants for their compliance. There should be a set of mechanisms associated with covenants to guide and ensure their compliance.
A national institution with core staff committed to road safety programmes, including research and development (R & D) in road safety, is needed. There is also a need to co-ordinate, through relevant federal and provincial government organisations, for implementation of the road safety programme on the entire road network.
MOC is seeking funds and TA to launch a sustainable mechanism to maintain such an institution. ADB should pursue with the Government to strengthen the existing facility, and develop as a core institution with a road safety framework for the entire country. Funding resources must be explored from the existing and future ADB or other donor assistance considering the current resource constraints and the importance of this intervention.
To improve the reform programme's performance and make it sustainable, additional assistance-in terms of loan/grants and TA-is necessary. Particularly, the positive impacts on road safety will encourage MOC/NHA to achieve improvements in the road sector. NHA is committed to continuous improvements in institutional efficiency and reforms in the management of the national road network.
Most of the covenants have been complied with, which triggered the release of the final tranche. However, further implementation of required actions cannot be pursued because of lack of readily available resources. The programme performance evaluation report can be conducted within the next year, taking into account any further developments.