Chaired by Senator Quratul Ain Marri, the meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives was held at Parliament House on Thursday. During the meeting, the Senate Body deliberated on the Private Member’s Bill titled “The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2022.” Senator Mohammad Abdul Qadir, the Bill’s mover, informed that the Bill proposes including Parliamentarians and members of Provincial Assemblies as members of the Board of Directors of the Authority. This inclusion aims to address grievances of Provinces related to Federal projects and ensure that Parliament was updated on the real-time progress of these projects. Secretary for the Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, Awais Manzur Sumra, apprised that the ministry has initiated the process for repealing the concerned Authority, and it will be completed soon. The Committee decided to defer deliberation on the Bill. Pakistan Planning and Management Institute (PPMI) briefed the Committee on their mandate, role, and progress.

DG PPMI, Dr. Muhammad Ali Noor, informed that the primary objective of PPMI is capacity building and enhance skills within public sector on various topics, especially Project Planning and Management. PPMI conducts training and needs assessment annually and also develops its curriculum to align with modern demands. The Committee recommended that PPMI conduct a study to analyze the impact of its courses on the public sector. Furthermore, the Committee discussed the progress of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). Nadeem ul Haque, Vice Chancellor of PIDE, apprised that PIDE focuses on local research and local solutions. Over its 67 years of operation, PIDE has published around 50 books and recently initiated a project, “RASTA,” which was solely focused on promoting evidence- and policy-based research work in the country. Currently, it has a network of 3,200 researchers.

Additionally, PIDE analyzes and evaluates the performance of public sectors to streamline the fault lines hindering their progress. The Vice Chancellor informed that PIDE has a workforce of approximately 250, including 200 supporting staff and 40 researchers. He added that the majority of researchers did not have the capacity to undertake research tasks, and despite several warnings, no improvements were noted. The Committee decided to schedule a separate briefing on the performance of PIDE employees. Deliberating on the performance of the Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A), Head of Corporate Affairs Syed Abrar Hussain highlighted that the objective of P3A was to execute public projects through private partnerships and make financial transactions structure of projects. P3A has approved financial structure of projects worth Rs. 646 billion in the last eighteen months.

It was the only public organization providing consultancy services to the public sector with a minimum burden on exchequer. The meeting was attended by Senators Jam Saifullah Khan, Shahadat Awan, Zeeshan Khanzada, Mohammad Abdul Qadir, Agha Shahzaib Durrani, Secretary for Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives Awais Manzur Sumra, Additional Secretary for Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives Kamran Rehman Khan, DG for Pakistan Planning and Management Institute Dr. Muhammad Ali Noor, Vice Chancellor for Pakistan Institute for Development Economics Nadeem ul Haque, Head of Corporate Affairs for Public Private Partnerships Authority Syed Abrar Hussain and other senior officials of relevant departments were also in attendance.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan