ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives is all set to submit the National Planning Framework (NPF) before the National Economic Council (NEC) after lengthy deliberations.
The Planning Ministry on Monday organized a workshop on NPF which was attended by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission of Pakistan Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan, Secretary Planning Ministry Awais Manzur Sumra and other federal and provincial officials of the various ministries.
The NPF aims to guide planning process, development and improve project effectiveness. It will help to define contours for federal and provincial public investment financing.
The framework will layout the national objectives and ensure that the polices, plans and projects contribute for the provision of public goods and improve service delivery.
Furthermore, it 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 harmonize development spending, done through federal and provincial development programs, to achieve optimum development outcomes at all levels; federal, provincial and local.
Speaking at the occasion, Jahanzeb Khan said that 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,” emphasizing that public welfare is the responsibility of the government while there is a need to clearly define which areas of development are under the jurisdiction of the provincial governments and federal government.
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.
The Deputy Chairman Planning Commission further added that in order to ensure the efficient use of resources, there is a need to work on a solid basis for effective use of existing resources, utilization of capacity and improvement of efficiency.
While highlighting the framework, he 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, the Secretary Ministry of Planning Owais Manzoor Samra said that 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.
During the workshop, Dr. Muhammad Afzal gave a comprehensive briefing on the NPF.
Several federal and provincial officials also expressed their views in the workshop.
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