The future strategy for economic and social development of Sindh has to be carefully charted out, as any linear derivation from the national strategy, without careful adaptation in the light of the sharp urban-rural, ethno-linguistic, agriculture-non agriculture income divide, with the attendant political polarization, would prove to be counter-productive.
The Provincial Commission should give higher allocation to the backward districts of the province while provide incentives to advanced districts to mobilize resources on their own. Public-private partnership should be encouraged for investment in infrastructure and human development.
The past practices of blaming the federal government for all the ills and shortcomings have not been conducive and a different track needs to be adopted. A more conciliatory and cooperative path may perhaps produce better results rather than an adversarial and confrontational avenue that has not worked in the past.
Hence, the growth strategy for future development should include: improving the governance and institutional capacity of the provincial and district governments by enhancing accountability, transparency and rule of law, introducing a citizens' feedback system and a robust freedom of information law making the urban economy more competitive and efficient, raising the productivity of water, livestock and agricultural land through water course lining, precision land leveling, introducing new varieties of seeds, improved crop and animal husbandry practices, promotion of fisheries and marine products and value-added horticulture, vegetables and oilseeds, mobilizing province's own revenues by reforming urban property tax, agricultural income tax, improving access of the poor, particularly the rural female population and those living in the backward districts to basic services such as education and health by giving scholarships, free lunches and conditional cash grants for female students, subsidies and free medicines.
The above remarks were made by SU vice chancellor Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Burfat in his presidential address at One-day International Conference on "Economic and Social History of Sindh" organized by the varsity's Pakistan Study Centre and Senate Hall of the Vice Chancellor Secretariat.
World renowned historians from Royal Holloway University of London Department of History's Centre of Minority Studies Prof. Dr. Sarah Ansari, Prof. Humayun Ansari and noted development economics scholar Prof. Aijaz A. Qureshi from Sindh were the keynote speakers.
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