PRIME Minister Shehbaz Sharif has echoed true aspirations of the people by declaring that nations do not progress through programmes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expressing hope that it will be the country’s last pro-gramme.
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the Prime Minister Digital Youth Hub, he underlined the need to transform the debt-ridden existence into a life of dignity and honour through skill and hard work.
He also pledged to reduce government expenditure while making substantial investment in training the younger generation.
The remarks of the PM can be construed as a reality check at a time when high-sounding statements are being made over successful conclusion of the IMF review and an accord for a fresh debt to be used for financing projects aimed at addressing the critical issue of climate change.
There is no doubt that continuation of the IMF programme has closer linkages to the overall economic scenario of the resource starved country and has become a sort of pre-requisite for steady inflow of external assistance.
Its continuation sends positive signals to bilateral and multilateral donors as well as local and foreign investors.
The programme has also helped the country to move towards the cherished goals of mobilization of internal resources, saving expenses on governance and reforming state institutions, a job almost all successive governments wanted to do but could not due to political expediency.
It is because of all this that the Prime Minister has emphasized that the stability that Pakistan required has already been achieved and as per repeated statements of the PM and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb the Government is now focusing on growth.
However, despite the positive contribution of the IMF programme to the economic health of the country, it is also a reality that it is a loan that comes with tough conditions, which, in many ways, compound the woes of the people.
Be it $7 billion IMF loan, $1.3 billion climate financing under Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), World Banks $20 billion Country Partnership Framework or deposits worth billions by friendly countries to boost our fragile foreign exchange reserves all are different forms of debt and surging repayment of debt leaves too little to be spent on development or welfare of the people.
The IMF programme is, in fact, an indirect compromise on the political sovereignty of the country as highlighted by reports that an IMF mission was due in weeks to finalize details of the budget for the next financial year besides helplessness expressed by the government leadership about their inability to announce relief for different segments of the society without a nod from the IMF.
The Prime Minister has expressed the hope that it will be the last IMF programme but it is the demand of the nation to make it the last one as people and for this to happen the authorities concerned should prepare a comprehensive strategy.
Programmes like promotion of IT, incentives for industry and agriculture and investment on youth can make a real difference and it is satisfying that the launch of the Digital Youth Hub is one such idea that could help Pakistan stand on its feet.
Our youth has great potential as reflected in their contribution in making Pakistan the 4th most popular country globally for freelancing and a major player in the global IT outsourcing sector.
Apart from the Digital Hub initiative, which will hopefully serve as a unique plat-form for providing opportunities to the youth in getting higher education, employment, technology scholarships and skill development, the federal and provincial governments have launched training programmes in collaboration with prominent local universities and foreign companies to impart skills to the manpower to become self-employed or get handsome jobs at home or abroad.
With the special interest of the Prime Minister, China has committed to impart training to one thousand agriculture graduates from Pakistan on different aspects of modern farming.
These are gainful initiatives but an industrial revolution requires proper investment in research and development besides making substantial investment on higher education and improving the quality of what is taught in our universities.
A policy aimed at exploitation of the rich mineral resources of the country is also going to be launched soon but we hope it will focus on value addition and not mere extraction and export of raw minerals.
