PESHAWAR, Oct 7: The World Bank has lauded the NWFP government for making efforts to meet benchmarks set under the Provincial Reforms Programme (PRP).

The government’s efforts to improve social sector spending and introduce fiscal and civil reforms in the education and health sectors have been appreciated by the Bank. The PRP, funded under the Bank’s Structural Adjustment Credit programme, is in its first year of implementation.

“Overall, there has been no serious reversals on reforms supported by SAC-I and good progress has been made in terms of achieving the proposed triggers for SAC-II,” contained one of the recently compiled documents of the World Bank.

Official sources said that results achieved during the last quarter of the last financial year had brightened the provincial government’s chances of getting the second tranche of $90 million to fund SAC-II which would be implemented in the current financial year.

A senior official said the second year of PRP’s implementation would be more difficult than the first one as the provincial government had been required to meet the new benchmarks.

The Bank, he said, had recommended that the government should take immediate steps to prioritize expenditure programmes for the new financial year.

Sources said the provincial government had been required to take appropriate measures, including administrative, legislative and regarding policy, to increase provincial own receipts during the current financial year.

However, the Bank observed that lack of coordination between the provincial government and district governments had affected the inter-governmental working relationship. It was recommended that the provincial government should rectify the situation.

The provincial government has been required not to increase the number of sanctioned posts in the wake of the recent relaxation of ban on recruitment.