ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: The World Bank has asked Pakistan to undertake comprehensive civil service reforms for urgently improving the management of government organisations and public sector corporations.

Official sources said on Monday that the Bank had urged the government to ensure professionalism in civil service and qualitative improvement through continuous training and skill up-gradation.

The Bank did not believe that issues concerning "poverty and inequality" in Pakistan could be adequately addressed without an efficient and transparent civil service which in fact ruled the country for all practical purposes.

The government was asked to achieve the objectives of its Medium-Term Development Framework (2005-2010) that called for achieving good governance through improved civil service.The MTDF described poor public management as a result of low level of human resource development and weak institutions, and envisioned a major effort in the area of public capacity building to produce a competent, accessible and motivated civil service which was transparent, accountable and responsive to the changing socio-economic needs of the people, particularly poverty and inequality.

The Bank had been told that in the medium-term, an exhaustive institutional, organisational and human capacity development exercise was envisioned.

Initially, the Bank was informed that the capacity building of the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education would be strengthened in a comprehensive, sustainable, result oriented and evidence-based manner. It included a strong monitoring and evaluation component.

The Bank believed that for the ministry to effectively lead and manage such a substantial capacity building exercise, the in-house capacity needed to be upgraded beforehand. The WB stressed the establishment of a dedicated Social Protection Unit within the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education with the capacity to house and evaluate the piloting of innovative social projection programmes, as well as to manage the capacity building process.

It also covers strengthening of core competencies of senior and mid-level staff in the areas of social protection policy making and the launch of staff development programme.

Capacity building for the implementation of the National Action Plan for the protection of the most vulnerable population in the quake-affected areas and would include conducting a rapid assessment of institutional, organisational and human capacity in the quake-affected areas.

It would also serve to pilot an assessment methodology for an overall countrywide assessment and to build the capacity of social welfare departments in the quake-hit areas to accelerate and expand the delivery of social services for the vulnerable.