In July 2008 Crown Agents began a programme of technical assistance in support of the Punjab Resource Management Programme (PRMP), a wide-ranging and ambitious public sector reform effort at the provincial level in Pakistan.
Funded by the Department for International Development (DFID), our role is to provide expert consulting support to GoPunjab-led reform projects and programmes. Initially, we are providing support to the Bureau of Statistics, the Punjab Economic Research Institute, the Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture, and the Departments of Industry and Commerce & Investment. Through a Policy Development Support Fund, and depending on the success of reform efforts, the programme is designed to grow and adapt to support evolving needs over the next 3-5 years.
To design, monitor and manage our projects of support, we have established a Technical Assistance Management Agency (TAMA) which operates in partnership with the PRMP Project Management Unit. On an ongoing basis, our TAMA office liaises with senior government officials in Lahore and provides advice on reform planning, objectives, sequencing and implementation.
In addition to these areas, our team will manage an innovative, demand-driven GBP 2m Policy Development Support Fund (PDSF). In June 2009, under this fund, the Planning and Development Board released "A Strategy for Accelerating Economic Growth and Improving Service Delivery" - a comprehensive paper that explores the pillars of the strategy which are, "a rapid growth of the Gross Provincial Product based on a high-value agriculture sector and an investor-friendly climate that would encourage rapid private sector growth; human resource development; and the strengthening of institutions (in particular the judicial system and the bureaucracy)."
The paper is preceded by a foreword from Sami Saeed, Chairman of the Planning and Development Board, a message from Tanvir Ashraf Kaira, the Minister of Finance, Planning and Development and a message from Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Punjab.
In regards to the paper, Chief Minister Sharif writes, "It is a realistic strategy, based on an objective analysis of our situation and the problems we face. It is a people-centered strategy, based on our commitment to the goal of improving the lives of the people of Punjab."