Karachi: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that the province is faced with intense economic challenges.
Addressing a ceremony jointly organised by Sindh government and the World Bank for the launch of the World Bank’s latest editions of the South Asia Development Update (SADU) and Pakistan Development Update (PDU) for October 2024 at a local hotel.
The CM Sindh said that floods have harmed with 70 percent of the area.while he said that the government was helping two billions of people in construction of their houses.
He said that the provincial government will commence a new power policy.He apprised that the government was also working on ending of poverty and loan with out interest.
The CM Sindh attended the ceremony as the chief guest.
He commended the World bank publishing of two reports in which a road-map has been presented for durable development regarding the economic situation.
“We are committed to overcoming these obstacles, and the people of Sindh have shown their confidence in the government to serve and uplift them,” said Murad Shah.
Mr Shah said that his government responded to findings in the report, which underlined rising poverty during 2023.
“The Sindh government has taken several steps to support the most vulnerable segments of society,” he said.
He added that the Emergency Housing Reconstruction Project was a key initiative aimed at providing housing for over two million people whose homes were destroyed in the 2022 floods.
“This project, with a focus on climate resilience, is expected to drive socio-economic changes in rural areas,” he said.
The Sindh government has mobilised district administrations to regulate prices of essential goods, working closely with federal authorities to manage the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Sensitive Price Index (SPI).
Murad Shah quoting the World Bank report said that it has also shed light on the country’s circular debt in the power sector, an issue exacerbated by low electricity bill collection rates. “The Sindh government, in cooperation with federal agencies, has ramped up efforts to curb electricity theft and improve recovery operations.
The CM said that the provincial government was actively addressing the lack of access to formal financial lending for the poor.
“The People’s Poverty Reduction Program (PPRP), a flagship initiative, is offering zero-interest loans to poor entrepreneurs,” he said and added that the plans were underway to extend these efforts with assistance from international partners like the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the European Union, with programs aimed at supporting small businesses and innovative SMEs.
Despite the report’s concerns over increasing public sector borrowing, Mr Shah said that his government reassured attendees of its fiscal discipline. “while domestic borrowing has been authorized, the province has largely avoided it, instead boosting revenue through tax reforms,” he said and added most of the borrowing has come from international development partners at highly favourable rates, aimed at rehabilitating flood-affected areas.
Sindh’s energy policy is also a focus of the government’s plan, with a renewed emphasis on utilising indigenous resources for electricity generation.
He added that a new power policy, set to be launched soon, would prioritise private and foreign investment in both conventional and renewable energy sectors, ensuring the province’s energy self-sufficiency.
He said “we know that the region in general and the Province of Sindh in particular has faced severe economic challenges during the last few years such as unprecedented floods in Sindh in the year 2022 which inundated almost 70% of the provincial landscape causing severe damages including infrastructural losses – creating a big challenge for the Government of Sindh to restore the infrastructure within shortest possible time.”
