Pakistan needs structural reforms: UK DFID

ISLAMABAD: Visiting Chief Economist of UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) Rachel Glennerster said that Pakistan was facing challenges on energy, trade integration and other issues and the government would have to set priorities to undertake required structural reforms.

“I am optimistic and encouraged that a lot of opportunities exist in Pakistan but there is need of serious thinking to re-prioritise the reform path. The government will have to take a decision what is doable out of long list of things need to be done,” she said in a brief talk to a select group of reporters here on Tuesday.

She said that the main challenge was on front of energy, trade integration and other issues confronting the economy. The detailed structure reforms with implementation strategy is required, she added.

The government, he said, understands what needs to be done on reform path. When asked about mentioning of areas where reforms were required, she replied that it was not her domain to mention any area of reforms. It should be the priority of the government of Pakistan to bring reforms in really tough but fundamental areas for undertaking structural reforms. The sequencing of reforms should be decided by the government, she added.

She said that she was not in job of forecasting about the economy of any country and it would depend upon the decision of government of Pakistan that how it wanted to implement the required reforms for many sectors of the national economy.

To another question regarding diverting of DFID grant money from social sector to infrastructure sector in recent past, another DFID official replied that mostly the DFID money was still utilised for social sector projects in Pakistan but regarding one specific project, which was provided resources for construction of Faisalabad motorway in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the DFID implemented the reforms on placing road safety as part of the reform plan for this infrastructure project.