PESHAWAR: Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) hosted a three-day 36th AGM and Conference of the Pakistan Society of Development Economists (PSDE) titled “Unleashing Tomorrow: Investment, Productivity, and Employability,” in collaboration with the Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering, and Management Sciences (BUITEMS), Quetta.
Chief Guest Acting Governor Balochistan, Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali talked about the need for Balochistan to have access to power and resources but limited institutions and thought on utilizing them most effectively to make Balochistan a key province of Pakistan. Guidance from the rest of the country and from experts is needed to assist Balochistani institutes in policymaking, he said.
The Acting Governor acknowledged the focus on provinces after the 18th Amendment but put forward the question of whether provinces have the capacity to carry out this responsibility.
Jamali said it is essential that all policy think tanks and intellectuals come together to guide and help the provinces, including Balochistan, in formulating their policy.
Earlier, Dr. Iftikhar Ahmed, former head of the PIDE School of Public Policy and currently serving as the secretary of PSDE said that the AGM was the most prestigious and important gathering of economists and public policy researchers in the country.
The secretary thanked the sponsors of the 36thg AGM, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious events where economists, academicians, and researchers from across the country and abroad meet and discuss ideas. Research paper presentations, panel discussions, and guest lectures from Nobel laureates and esteemed academics further ornament the Conference.
On the concluding day, the theme of the Conference was “Charter of Economy: Investment, Productivity, and Employability.” The collaborators and sponsors of the Conference included the World Bank Group, CPEC Centre of Excellence, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, IFAD, National Poverty Graduation Programme, Engro, PPAF, the Bank of Punjab, PMIC, ILO, Nafees Poly Pack, Saudi-Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company, and the University of Balochistan.
The final day of the PSDE’S 36th AGM & Conference kicked off with a discussion on the PIDE Charter of Economy.
The charter is a live document prepared by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, which presents a blueprint of some solutions for Pakistan’s ailing economy.
The discussion focused on the delineation of economy and politics, civil service reforms, taxation, governance, and devolution. Panellists included Dr Nadeem ul Haque (Vice-Chancellor PIDE), and Shahid Kardar (Vice-Chancellor BNU).
The charter was presented by Saddam Hussain and Shaaf Najeeb, who are researchers at PIDE. The PIDE Charter of the Economy is open for suggestions and inputs.
In the opening remarks, Dr Nadeem contextualized the problem. He said that we have been working on the economy, but nothing has worked out for 70 years. Therefore, PIDE has come up with a charter of economy, which is up for debate and aims to guide policy efforts. He stressed the need to delink politics and economics, which are, according to him, separate domains.
However, he acknowledged that a political consensus is needed if the charter of the economy is to be implemented. He said that whether or not the charter is debated and implemented, we have tried to offer our advice in the capacity of a public research think tank.
The charter talks about, among other things, the kind of parliamentary and local governance structure we should have.
Moreover, it also poses the question of whether there should be a limit on the term of a member of parliament and the structure of senate elections. According to the charter, senate elections should be direct in which the people can elect their senators through a direct voting mechanism.
The charter also discusses a new structure of autonomous government agencies run by technocrats and experts rather than bureaucrats. On the third day of the conference, three technical sessions were also part of the conference programme.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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