PESHAWAR, Nov 23: The NWFP government will need to bring about improvements in its recently formulated poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) to make it effective to achieve desired results, according to official sources.

"The strategy has not taken stock of some of productive sectors that is vital to reduce poverty by generating economic activities at the grassroots level," said a source close to the provincial cabinet.

The PRSP, which calls for laying focus on five main areas, does not encompass the construction, environment and certain other sectors which, they added, attained significance to reduce poverty through economic growth.

The construction alone lends support to at least 40 sub-sectors. "Significance of the construction sector has been recognized the world over as an effective means to combat poverty but the provincial PRSP does not take cognizance of it," said an official of the provincial government.

Economic experts believe that large number of jobs could be created as well as self-employment opportunities by promoting the construction business. The PRSP, prepared in line with the federal government's directives to all the federating units, was approved by the NWFP cabinet recently.

It took the provincial bureaucracy more than two years to formulate the strategy as work on its preparation has been commenced much before the sitting government came into office.

While the significance of the construction sector had been recognized much before the formulation of the PRSP under various exercises carried out jointly by the provincial industry department and the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda).

The NWFP's industrial strategy developed during the days of the provincial government had laid special focus on promoting the construction sector with a view to generate economic activities on a massive scale.