THE North West Frontier Province government is set to announce a Rs32 billon Annual Development Programme (ADP) for the financial year 2007-08.

A major chunk of the fund, of the all-time high ADP, according to Finance Minister Shah Raz Khan, will go to the social sector, including health, education, water supply and communication.

Eying the forthcoming general elections, completion of the projects, which have been initiated by the MMA government, will get top priority in the next budget.

The NWFP government deserves the credit for getting the budgetary allocation for the ADP raised from Rs6 billion in 2001 to Rs27 billion in the current financial year.

But, many believe that even with higher budgetary allocations, no significant improvement could be witnessed towards social indicators of the province mainly because the government lacks a coherent approach to the development sector.

They say that in the NWFP only politically-motivated projects dominate the ADP, which secures the interests of those in power instead of targeting the needy and deserving sections of the population.

Abdul Akbar Khan, parliamentary leader of PPP-Parliamentarians in the Frontier Assembly, says: "Article 119 of the 1973 Constitution confers the provincial assembly with the power to involve parliamentarians in the budget-making process. However, unfortunately even after passage of 30 years, the Frontier Assembly is following the rules framed in 1937, which restrict the involvement of parliamentarians in the exercise.

“Budgets and the ADPs are prepared by bureaucrats on the whims of the ruling parties rather on the basis of need. That is why visible development could not take place in the NWFP even after increasing the spending on public sector uplift programmes," he says.

Apart from limited participation of the public in ADP formulation, there are a number of impediments such as lack of capacity of the implementing agencies and procedural hurdles, which hamper the development process despite higher budgetary allocations.

Background interviews with officials involved in the ADP formulation suggest that government agencies have shortage of technical staff which is creating the biggest hindrance in achieving the required development target.

In the current financial year, out of Rs27 billion worth ADP, the government has earmarked Rs16 billion for those projects which are being financed by provincial resources.

The government had set completion target of 411 projects by the end of current fiscal year. However, by the end of the third quarter hardly 14 projects have been completed. Though, the government anticipates completion of the remaining 397 projects within the specified period of time, the past experiences show that hardly 300 projects could be completed within this period.

According to officials, the Planning and Development Department, being the prime agency for preparing and monitoring uplift activities in the province, doesn't have the capability to achieve the development targets.

Instead of strengthening such department, the government has abolished 180 staff positions during departmental downsizing in 2001.

Currently, there is only one chief of infrastructure, who has to technically scrutinise engineering proposals worth more than Rs5 billion annually.

Similarly the planning capacity of the Works and Services Department is under strain. The department plays pivotal role in the execution of civil works in related projects, but since 1995 no technical person has been inducted to this department, which has badly affected its working.

Earlier, the plan restructuring department had posts of three chief engineers which have been reduced to two along with the staff associated with the office of a chief engineer.

According to officials, the total sanctioned technical staff position of the W&S department is 300, out of which hardly 110 are filled while the rest are vacant.

At the district level, the planning and project appraisal capacity is almost non-existent which is creating procedural hurdles in the preparation of development plans. Such problems are also causing delay in the execution of projects.

A project has to be formally approved prior to its execution by a number of institutions and authorities such as pre-provincial development working party and provincial development working party, concerned department and finally by the chief minister’s secretariat.

The approval of PC-1 of a project takes seven to eight months and the period some time prolongs even to one year in case of its approval by the federal government. Owing to such impediments, the general public of the province is far away from getting any significant benefit from the huge spending at the government level.

Just increasing the budgetary allocation can not mitigate the rampant poverty in the province unless coherent plans devised with public consultation are adopted.

Accountability with responsibility, job training for the concerned officials, introduction of a system of punishment and reward for the officials, placement of right man at the right place with a fixed tenure, strengthening the institutions by protecting them from political pressures and a strong evaluation and monitoring mechanism could produce positive results to a greater extent.