KARACHI, Jan 7: The Governor, State Bank, Dr Ishrat Hussain on Tuesday emphasised the need for investing in human development and changing the mindset of the bureaucracy for achieving the objectives of removing poverty and gaps in social justice.

He was speaking at a workshop organized by the World Bank to disseminate the findings of the recently completed Pakistan Poverty Assessment Report.

The report focuses on human development and reflects on the gaps in human development, such as health and education, and their impact on poverty.

The SBP governor emphasised the need of benefiting from the Chinese experience, which had invested in human development, education and health to banish poverty. He said that owing to high priority given to education and health, 8 per cent growth was reported during the last 7-8 years.

Referring to measures taken in Pakistan, Dr. Hussain emphasised the need for reviving the growth since the country was vulnerable to external debt. He said structural reforms coupled with good governance was key to reducing poverty and other disparities.

He was of the view that privatization was the answer to problems. At the same time he emphasised the significance of political commitment to reducing poverty.

He said it was true that the state had a responsibility to provide education but there was no harm if the private sector could deliver the goods.

As 17 per cent of the workforce in Pakistan comprises females, the SBP Governor called for addressing the gender issue.

Kaiser Bengali, acting managing director Social Policy and Development Centre, while examining the World Bank report said “the extent of poverty that we are dealing is momentous”. As 43 per cent of the total population had been grouped within a range of 75 to 120 per cent of the poverty, according to Bengali, “in absolute terms, that amounts to 60 million people, which is equal to the total population of France or UK. Further, about 14 million people — equal to the combined population of Switzerland and Netherlands —are stated to be chronically poor and vulnerable.”

He termed as positive the findings that inequality in land ownership impacts on agricultural productivity as well. He said a land tenure system based on restrictive land ownership could also impact on non-agricultural sectors. In this context he cited a study on agricultural implements in industry in the North West Frontier Province. Haris Gazdar, welcomed the emphasis on devolution of power.

Tara Vishwanath, senior economist, World Bank, said poverty in Pakistan stagnated in the 1990s (up to 1998-99) revealing a high incidence of vulnerability. She said rural poverty was of special concern having shown little concern over the period. She said even during periods of relatively high poverty reduction, human development has not registered commensurate progress.

She said institutional constraints pose major obstacles to distribution of benefits of growth across and added that over 50 per cent of the rural population in Pakistan landless and over 40 per cent of them were poor.

Waqar Masood Khan, secretary, Economic Affairs Division, highlighted the focus on institutional side.