Socio-Economic Indicators are generally used to measure economic development, to make an assessment of the economic performance as well as for measuring standard of living of the people. Accurate socio economic indicators are essential for the government to harmonize the official decision making process with the genuine development requirements of various areas, ensuring apt resource utilization. A meeting regarding socio economic indicators held at P&D Deptt today. The Additional Chief Secretary was given briefing about the Socio-Economic Indicators of Merged Areas by SDU & BOS officials.
Review meeting of Planning and Development Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was attended by Secretary P&D, Additional Secretaries, Chief Economist, DGSDU, Chief Coordination.The ongoing projects under the Accelerated Development Program of Integrated Districts, reorganization of various departments, budget planning, project policy reforms and other matters of P&D department were reviewed in detail.
A meeting of the Project Steering Committee was held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shakeel Qadir Khan to promote creative ideas for solving the problems facing the province.The meeting was attended by Special Secretary Health, Chief Economist P&D, DG Monitoring and Evaluation, Project Director, SDU officials including Finance Department and senior officials of P&D Department.
The meeting was informed that under the scheme, work on four projects with unique ideas is underway while work on 2 projects including tele-farming in agriculture and one-touch app of Rescue 1122 has been completed.
Under the scheme, the government is providing unique ideas to the youth in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so that the youth can play their role together with the government for the development of the society. The total cost of the project is Rs. 1 billion, which aims to promote creative ideas for solving problems in various sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.The KP government is monitoring and funding the innovative ideas scheme, and the Department of Planning and Development is paying special attention to it to further improve the scheme.The meeting was informed that under the project, a telemedicine project has been launched in the health department at a total cost of Rs. 9.5 crore. Under the scheme, 472 patients including 156 women and 316 men have been checked online in the last three months (November, December, January) in five districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Batgram, Chitral, Karak, Nowshera and Swabi. A telemedicine hub has been set up at Police Hospital Peshawar for the project in which doctors from different parts of the province treat patients online. Solar panels have recently been installed at the respective hospitals in Batgram, Chitral, Karak, Nowshera and Swabi for the project. And the availability of the internet is also ensured. In addition, under the recently released advertisement under the project, the P&D department has received 75 new ideas which are being scrutinized and shortlisted, after which funds will be released for the launch of the projects.
Work on the first social protection policy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is in full swing. Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shakeel Qadir Khan was briefed on the progress of the policy by the SDU unit of the P&D department. The main objective of the Social Protection Policy is to improve the living standards of the weak and deserving sections of the province – the policy will set up programs to help the poor and needy.
The consultative meetings continue in the P&D department to finalize the annual development program for the financial year 2021-22. In the current consultative meeting, consultations have been completed on the sectors of multi-sectoral development, International Development, and Accelerated Development Program of Integrated Districts, while a proposed list of new projects in all sectors has been prepared. A briefing will be given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan this week. Under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shakeel Qadir Khan, development projects in all sectors are being finalized. Completion of ongoing development projects in the next annual development program is being given first priority. The meeting also reviewed the progress and performance of the departments on the Annual Development Program 2020-21. The meeting was attended by Secretary P&D, Chief Economist, Special Secretary P&D, SDU Unit, Coordination Section, Resource Center, and concerned Section Chiefs.
Consultative meeting continues to finalize Annual Development Program 2021-22 in Planning and Development Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr. Kazim Niaz was briefed on Annual Development Program. Additional Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa P&D Secretary Amir Sultan Tareen, Special Secretary P&D Abid Wazir, DG SDU Bakhtiar Khan and other senior officers of the department were also present in the meeting.
The Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was informed that the completion of ongoing development projects in the next annual development program is being given first priority. New development projects are also being launched on the basis of need. The Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also reviewed the accelerated development program of integrated districts. The Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Additional Chief Secretary were also briefed on the progress and performance of the departments so far on the Annual Development Program 2020-21.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kohat Development Project and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority was signed on Wednesday in the SDU unit of the Planning and Development Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the special participation of DG SDU Sohail Khan. The main objective is to work on the potential of the youth in the three districts of Karak, Kohat and Hangu and to prepare them for employment as per the need of the hour. Under the agreement, thousands of youths, including women, will be prepared for employment in various fields and the two sides also agreed on the modalities of the project. The MoU was signed by Malik Mohammad Ayaz from Kohat Development Project and Engineer Sajjad Ali Shah from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Technical Education and Vocational Training Authority.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa became the first province to issue a flood response plan to rebuild after the floods and cope with future climate change. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Planning and Development organized a consultation session with development partners with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Merged Areas Governance. The Flood Response Plan 2022 developed in collaboration with the Project (MAGP) was presented. This plan, prepared for the first time in the history of Pakistan, has been prepared in the context of the disasters of floods in recent years, in which the houses of more than ninety-one thousand families were affected while 674,000 people were forced to relocate. Through this plan, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government wants to provide better planning and early awareness of the risks faced by natural disasters in order to rehabilitate the flood-affected people and save them from being at the mercy of climate change. In his opening remarks on this occasion, Provincial Minister of Health and Finance Taimur Salim Jhagra said that the world is facing new and unknown dangers due to climate change, and it is very unfortunate that even though we have no role in creating this situation. But we are on the front line in facing their consequences. To protect against these threats, we will use available data and evidence, better relationships with our resources and development partners, and build our strategy on resilience to climate change and economic challenges. On this occasion, UNDP Resident Representative Qunot Osbi called the flood response plan of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government an important milestone and said that this plan covers three aspects to increase resilience against climate change. It includes the construction of better infrastructure, better efficiency of government institutions and better preparation at the district level, he stressed the development partners to fully support the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in this process. Additional Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shahab Ali Shah in his detailed presentation covered the situation and outlined the flood response plan. He said that according to the preliminary estimates, the provincial government to increase the capacity of the government against climate risks by one hundred and eight nine million dollars for reconstruction and an amount of thirty-nine million dollars is required for the restoration. In this regard, he emphasized that the use of additional resources will be effective only if the institutions engaged in this regard perform better. He said that for this purpose, the provincial government has established the Climate Resilient Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) which will be established with the help of public-private partnership at a cost of thirty-five billion rupees. Various methods of competition are being evaluated to prepare for future natural calamities. He said that people have the right to have a government that can face such situations and is fully prepared for them. The consultative session was attended by representatives of the British High Commission and the US Consulate and the Swedish Embassy and representatives of the European Union, USAID, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, FCDO, INL and KFW and others. He appreciated the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s preparation of a comprehensive plan and speedy implementation of this process in the face of a national-level emergency. Secretaries of various departments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Agriculture, Irrigation, Information, Environment, Health, Primary and Secondary Education, Communication and Works and officials of SDU, EPA and PDMA also participated in the consultation session. In his closing remarks, Provincial Minister for Health and Finance, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, thanked the provincial government for its development partners’ support and reiterated that the government would implement short-term and long-term initiatives. In order to increase resilience against climate change along with immediate reconstruction, he expressed his determination that he will take full measures to rehabilitate the people affected by floods and save them from such crises in the future.
The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recently unveiled its first-ever Social Protection Policy during a dissemination event organized to promote the policy. The objective of this policy is to extend social protection to poor and vulnerable individuals in the province, providing them with social safety nets to overcome the adverse effects of poverty, unemployment, and marginalization.
Adil Saeed Safi, the Director General (DG) of the Sustainable Development Unit (SDU), Planning & Development Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, welcomed the guests and highlighted the significance of the Social Protection Policy, especially in light of the recent increase in poverty and vulnerability due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy aims to address traditional challenges such as poverty, low human capital, gender gaps, unemployment, and marginalization that have persisted and even intensified despite the government’s increased focus on poverty alleviation through economic growth and redistribution.
Safi expressed his gratitude to FCDO/SNG, GIZ, and ILO for their assistance throughout the process of developing the policy.
A meeting on the Khyber Pass Economic Corridor (KPEC) was held under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary, Mr. Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah. The Additional Chief Secretary was briefed on the project’s status, with an emphasis on expediting it due to its significance for the region and beyond. The meeting was attended by DG SDU, Planning and Development Department, representatives from relevant departments, and field staff. The KPEC Project aims to expand economic activity between Pakistan and Afghanistan by improving regional connectivity and promoting private sector development along the Khyber Pass Corridor. The Additional Chief Secretary also underscored the need for strong coordination among stakeholders, ensuring that the initiative addresses all available potential.