ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives will submit the National Planning Framework (NPF) before the National Economic Council (NEC) for approval.
The NPF aims to guide the planning process and development and improve project effectiveness. It will help to define contours for federal and provincial public investment financing.
The framework will lay out the national objectives and ensure that the policies, plans, and projects contribute to the provision of public goods and improve service delivery.
The NPF will draw broad jurisdictional lines between federal and provincial domains for funding of development schemes and alignment with the federal plans. It will also aim to harmonise development spending, done through federal and provincial development programmes, to achieve optimum development outcomes at all levels; federal, provincial and local.
“The Ministry of Planning is all set to submit the NPF before the National Economic Council (NEC) after lengthy deliberations. The NPF is a milestone for determining and coordinating the national and development priorities between the Federation and the provinces. This framework will set the guidelines for determining the scope of federal and provincial governments in the effective use of resources and national priorities. There is a need to clearly define which areas of development are under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments and federal government,” Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan expressed these views on Monday while addressing a workshop on the NPF.
The Planning Ministry on Monday organised a workshop on NPF which was attended by Planning Ministry Secretary Awais Manzur Sumra and other federal and provincial officials of the various ministries.
Muhammad Jahanzeb Khan further said that we have to change the thinking that the provincial government lacks human capacity and provinces do not have financial powers, rather he said that our provinces are rich in human, natural and financial resources.
He said in order to ensure the efficient use of resources, there is a need to work on solid basis for effective use of existing resources, utilisation of capacity and improvement of efficiency.
While highlighting the framework, the Planning Commission deputy chairman said that it will determine the effective use of the country’s resources and the correct direction of development. As a result of the framework, there will be coordination between the federal government and the provinces in development matters and it will also help in transferring the development process to the local level, he added.
Speaking at the workshop, Ministry of Planning Secretary Owais Manzoor Samra said the Ministry of Planning and Planning Commission held several meetings in preparation of this framework and the purpose of today’s workshop is to get feedback from all relevant authorities so that it can be presented before the National Economic Council (NEC).
During the workshop, a comprehensive briefing was given on the NPF. Several federal and provincial officials also expressed their views in the workshop.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024