Promotion of Peace and Tolerance

The budget preparation process is dismally weak in majority districts of PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (KP) where performance of 86 percent districts can be termed very weak and 14 percent as moderate.

“The budget preparation process is very weak in 18 districts (86%), and moderate in 14% districts, calling for serious concerted efforts for policy reforms, capacity building coupled with abiding by rules and procedures,” a study on budget making process in KP prepared by Citizens Network for Budget Accountability (CNBA) & Centre for Peace and Development Initiative (CPDI) states.

The study reveals that budget call letters (BCL) is not circulated on time in 67% districts in case of health, 63% districts in case of education and 55% districts in case of agriculture either did not receive the BCL on time or did not receive the BCL at all.

On average, less than 38% departments received the BCL before October 31, 2013.

Similarly, majority of the departments have not received the budget calendar, which spells out the schedule of different budget preparation activities.

Even the date of release of budget is not mentioned in many cases.

The submission of Estimates of Expenditure is encouraging as 98%, 89% and 73% of districts submitted the estimates in case of agriculture, education and health sectors respectively.

However, Schedule of New Expenditures (SNEs) are not prepared by majority of the districts. Statements of Excess and Surrender are not prepared by 55% of the districts. Same is the dismal position about submission of development projects.

Pre-budget consultation is very poor, as no pre-budget consultation took place in 90% of the districts. Public release of pre-budget statement and preparation and release of citizen budget are not practiced at all. There is acute shortage of skilled budget staff. No research is taking place across the districts and very few districts have their websites. However net facility is available in 70% of the districts.

In agriculture department, 8 (42%) districts responded that they did not prepare the Statement of Excess and Surrender, whereas majority or 11 (58%) districts have prepared it. In education department 14 (74%) districts revealed that they have not prepared it and only 5 (26%) departments responded that they have prepared the Statement. In case of health department 7 (47%) districts conceded that they have not prepared it however majority 8 (53%) districts revealed that they have prepared the Statement of Excess and Surrender.

This phenomenon shows that non-submission of the statements on time makes it difficult to revise the budget on need basis and hence hampers the resource management and affects the performance of the institutions, owing to difficulties in re-appropriation of resource crunch

The data shows that in agriculture department, 11 (58%) districts confirmed the fact that they have not submitted their new development project proposals however 8 (42%) districts have informed that they have submitted the proposals to the provincial department.

In case of education, 13 (68%) districts responded that they have not submitted it and only 6 (32%) districts have submitted it. In case of health department, 6 (40%) districts indicated that they have not submitted their new development project proposals and majority or 9 (60%) districts have submitted it.

The situation is good in case of health but disappointing in case of education and agriculture. This is usually due to lack of capacity for initiating development projects.

This survey shows that in agriculture departments 5 (26%) districts have no access to the internet while 14 (74%) districts have the facility. In case of education department, 6 (32%) districts have no access whereas majority 13 (68%) districts have access to internet. In health department 5 (31%) districts have no access to internet whereas 11(69%) districts have the facility. This is the only area which is encouraging. Though the use may be restricted to word processing, basic surfing and emails but the technology will assimilate in the functions in due course.

Website is a very important requirement of present day organic offices which presents the information about the department, facilitates public in access to the information and mainly brings transparency in the affairs. With only 3 exceptions, all of the district-level departments under study have no website. The data shows the non-availability of official website in majority of the districts in the 3 departments and this is true for almost all the district level offices.

In the recommendations, it was called upon authorities for capacity building of all officers. Capacity building of the district level offices is of vital importance both in terms of creation of designated posts and posting of skilled staff and their training and re-training in planning, budgeting, accounting, procurement and monitoring and evaluation.
By :
Mehtab Haider
The News Link

Daily Mail Link

Wednesday, May 28, 2014 – Abbottabad—Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) have prepared policy recommendations for health sectors reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to facilitate the government to implement a better policy for health sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

One-day policy dialogue on health sector for the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw was arranged by the CPDI in Press club Abbottabad on Tuesday. Large number of participants from different walks of life including political and civil society activists attended the policy dialogue.

Resource person Syed Kausar Abbas, Program Manager of Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives said that the KP still have no health policy to implement officially at the grass root level.

He told that CPDI has prepared the policy recommendations with the consultation of all political stakeholders, public officials working at district and provincial level for education, healthfood and agriculture sector reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhaw.

He said that the policy recommendations of education sector would be presented on Thursday May 29, 2014 in Peshawar. Invitations to Provincial Education Minister Atif Khan, Members of standing committee, MNA Nafeesa Khattak, opposition parties have been sent to attend the policy dialogue on May 29 in Peshawar.

Talking about health recommendations Kausar Abbas presented that the provincial government needs to improve the health sector which are aimed to address three broad areas: administrative and fiscal issues, policy and advocacy related issues, and Legislative considerations. All these targeted areas of improvements are discussed under the light of changed environment after 18th amendment and number of proposals, which were presented by the speaker, was discussed in length. They are which need more attention are management of vertical program, health education regulation, drug regulation and provincial policy and planning, etc. In the light of these new challenges, the Health Department needs to be restructured. A particular focus should be made on the creation of policy and planning wing to focus on the strategic and creative aspects of health management in the province. This restructuring will lead to re-allotment of sources from low density to high-density work areas. This will also initiate readjustment of employees from one section to other. It may appear a gigantic task to embark on at once. Therefore, a gradual restructuring is proposed with high priority areas taking the lead. Nonetheless, the Health Department needs complete restructuring, sooner or later and its management.

It was further demanded that provincial government should prepare policy documents in specific areas related to its various functions. The department should be creative in its approach to realize not only the existing requirements but also the demands that may come up in the near future. Some of the policy areas are health education policy, public private partnership, health service delivery standards, management of professional bodies, health regulatory functions and private medical colleges.

Legislation was demanded and revision existing legislation, which was made at the Federal level, and d serves the purpose for the moment. However, these federal laws need to be amended or replaced with new legislation in accordance with the demands of the province. Despite the fact that the provincial government has already embarked on new legislative process in some areas, it still needs new/reviewed legislation.

ABBOTTABAD: The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI) has prepared policy recommendations for health sector reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This was stated during a policy dialogue on health sector reforms, held on Tuesday in Abbottabad Press Club. People from different walks of life, including civil society and political activists, participated in the dialogue.

CPDI resource person Syed Kausar Abbas claimed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government still had no health policy to implement at grass-roots level. He said that despite invitations to health minister Shahram Khan, members of standing committee and other officials, no one bothered to attend the dialogue.

Mr Abbas said that the provincial government had now been working as an independent entity after the 18th amendment, but still it was unable to design a policy at the provincial level.

He said that CPDI had prepared the policy recommendations with the consultation of all stakeholders, including public officials working at district and provincial level for health, education, food and agriculture sector reforms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

About the health recommendations, he said that the provincial government needed to bring improvement in health sector in three areas so as to address administrative and fiscal issues, policy and advocacy-related issues, and legislative considerations. All these targeted areas of improvements have been discussed in the light of changed environment after 18th amendment.

They areas which needed attention are management of vertical programme, health education regulation, drug regulation and provincial policy and planning, etc so that the health department could be restructured.

Priority should be given to the creation of policy and planning wing to focus on the strategic and creative aspects of health management in the province. This restructuring will lead to re-allocation of resources from low density to high-density work areas. This will also initiate readjustment of employees from one section to other. A gradual restructuring is proposed with high priority areas taking the lead.

It was further demanded that provincial government should prepare policy documents in specific areas related to its various functions. The department should be creative in its approach to realise not only the existing requirements but also the demands that may come up in the near future.

Some of the policy areas are health and education policy, public-private partnership, health service delivery standards, management of professional bodies, health regulatory functions and private medical colleges.

Participants of the dialogue called for legislation and revision of existing legislation, which was earlier done at the federal level. They said that the federal laws needed to be amended or replaced with new legislation in accordance with the demands of the province.

Some of the existing laws which needed urgent revision include Poisons Act, 1919; Dangerous Drugs Act, 1930; Drugs and Medicines (Indemnity) Act, 1957; Pharmacy Act, 1967; NWFP Juvenile Smoking Ordinance, 1959; NWF Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance, 1960; Cigarettes (Printing of Warning) Ordinance, 1979; Prohibition of Smoking Ordinance, 2002; Allopathic System Ordinance, 1962; Yunani, Ayurvedic and Homeopathic Practitioners Act, 1965; National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases Act, 1979; National Institute of Health Ordinance, 1980; Transfusion of Safe Blood Ordinance, 2002; and Injured Persons (Medical Aid) Act, 2004.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2014

The Citizen Network for Budget Accountability has been launched across the province.

The body is an amalgam of civil society, academia and non-governmental bodies which will monitor the government’s budget.

It aims to make the budget a participatory process, tailored to public needs, said the programme manager for Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives, the organisation behind the initiative.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st, 2014.
Tribune

Rawalpindi: Syed Kausar Abbas, programme manager at the Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives (CPDI), urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold local government elections on immediate basis in all provinces.

Talking to journalists here on Thursday, he said that provincial governments are violating Article 140-A of the Constitution by delaying local government elections.