Launching Conference:

Network of Asia-Pacific Schools

and Institutes of Public Administration
Asian Development Bank and Governance (NAPSIPAG)
6-8 December 2004
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Conference Theme:
National Institute of Public Administration
The Role of Public Administration
(INTAN)-Malaysia
in Alleviating Poverty and Improving Governance

CITIZEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH PATICIPATION WORKSHOP

PAKISTAN’S QUEST FOR ALLEVIATION OF POVERTY

THROUGH PARTICIPATION

AHMAD NADEEN KHAN

Research Associate
Pakistan Administrative Staff College

1
INTRODUCTION:

Public administration may be defined as “taking care of state’s, and international

organizations’ business by civil servants within the executive branch of government, other than
1
public policy.” Distinction should be made between public administration and governance.
Whereas public administration refers to the governmental machinery, governance refers to the
exercise of power by that machinery in order to utilize the resources at the disposal of the
government. One may however observe that the primary business/role of the state, of late, has
changed from security to welfare of its people. This change in concept, therefore, calls for
improving governance with a view to making it compatible with the new role of the state. Thus the
focus has shifted to good governance. Good governance may be defined as “the exercise of
power by various levels of government that is effective, honest, equitable, transparent and
2
accountable.” Thus the more vigorously governmental machinery adopts and delivers according
to the basic instruments of good governance as mentioned in the definition, the more it is on the
path to improved governance. The role of public administration in improving governance, thus,
cannot be over emphasized when one looks at the nexus between public administration, good
governance and improved governance.

There can be no two opinions about the proposition that the greatest challenge which the
public administration in the developing countries is faced with these days is the alleviation of
poverty. If the world community wishes to improve the living conditions of the people, reduction in
poverty has to be the starting point for it. Realizing the gravity of the situation, reduction in poverty
is the overarching goal and the most significant development challenge of the Asian Development
3
Bank for the Asia and Pacific region.

POVERTY AND POVERTY-LINE

The new century opened with an unprecedented declaration of solidarity and

determination to rid the world of poverty by adopting the UN Millennium Declaration at the largest
4
ever gathering of heads of state, doing all they can to eradicate poverty. This is because
apparently poverty is just a word but the meaning and concept is so vast and painful that only
those who experience it can feel it. The even darker part is that freedom from illness and freedom
from illiteracy – two of the most important ways poor people can escape poverty remain elusive to
5
many. The brighter part of the whole episode is the fact that it has been understood in its correct
perspective and so there is a great awareness and hue and cry raised, particularly by the
International Agencies like the ADB, the World Bank, the IMF etc. to address the problem and
reduce it. Never ever has so much emphasis been placed on tackling this problem despite the
fact that the problem is centuries old as is evident from one of the most famous short poems of
th 6
Du Fu, a famous 8 century Chinese Poet:

zhu men jiu rou chou

lu you dong si gu

Behind the gates of the wealthy

Food lies rotting from waste
Outside it’s the poor
Who lie frozen to death

1
. wordiQ.com
2
Canadian International Development agency
3
ADB, Medium-Term Strategy (2001-2005)
4
Human Development Report - 2003
5
World Development Report - 2004
6
http://web.worldbank.org

2
 What poverty means to the poor is aptly described as “Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack
of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to see a doctor. Poverty is not being able to go
to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty is not having a job, is fear for the future, living
one day at a time. Poverty is losing a child to illness brought about by unclean water. Poverty is
7
powerlessness, lack of representation and freedom”. For such a grave situation, the biggest
question is as to where from to take a start? An acceptable way had to be found out to determine
some minimum level necessary to meet basic needs. This is known as ‘Poverty-Line”. The World
Bank, thus uses the reference lines set at $1 and $2 per person per day for the purpose of global
aggregation and comparison. Those living below $1 are in the bracket of extreme economic
8
poverty.

INCIDENCE OF POVERTY

Poverty is found all over the world. Asia-Pacific region is much more vulnerable. This is
because this region occupies slightly less than a quarter of the world’s land area but has more
9
than half of the total world population. More alarming is the fact that two-thirds of the world’s
10
poor are still found in the region. It is this very fact because of which the Asian Development
Bank has specially focused on this region for eradication of poverty to meet its wider aim of the
reduction of poverty. With this aim the International Development Goals have been chalked out to
tackle this problem. The best known International Development Goal is halving the proportion of
people in extreme poverty by 2015. If the world is to halve poverty by 2015, Asia-Pacific must
spearhead. The fight against global poverty must be won in the Asia and Pacific region.

Although the picture presented above is alarming but that does not mean that nothing
has been done. In 2000, the proportion of people living on less than 1 $ a day was 22 percent
down from 32 percent in 1990. This means that the number of poor people fell from 900 million to
11
720 million in the same period. When it comes to Asia, as recent as 26 August, 2004, 1.9 billion
people, or 60 percent of developing Asia’s population still live on less than $ 2 a day, according to
a report released by Asian Development Bank. The report notes that if $ 1-a-day poverty line is
used, the number of people living in extreme poverty totals 690 million or 21.5 percent of
12
developing Asia’s population. This has come down from 800 million people in 1998.

All this has happened due to the splendid role played by the International Donor
Agencies and in particular the Asian Development bank. The Asian Development Bank has said
and reiterated time and again that reduction in poverty is her first and foremost challenge and
goal. Not only has she said it but amply demonstrated it as well since her establishment in 1966.
This is abundantly evident from the fact that ADB unveiled a 7.0 billion dollar anti-poverty fund for
the period between 2005 and 2008. This amount is significantly higher than the 5.65 billion dollars
13
committed for the 2001 – 2004 period. The highlights of this fund are the facts that the fund will
earmark 21 percent of the amount to be given as grants and secondly ADF loans are charged
one percent interest rate during an eight year grace period and 1.5 percent after that. They are
14
payable in 32 years. Not only this, the President of ADB while delivering a speech at the Joint
KFW – ADB Seminar on Infrastructure and Poverty Reduction in Berlin, Germany on 26
September, 2001 highlighted ADB’s Poverty Reduction Strategy in which he announced that from
this year onwards, at least 40 percent of ADB’s public sector lending will be allocated to direct
poverty reduction.

7
www.worldbank.org/poverty
8
www.worldbank.org/poverty
9
Asia-pacific Environment Outlook
10
www.aegis.com/news/afp
11
www.aegis.com/news/afp
12
The Spectre of Poverty in Asia by C P Chandrasekhar
13
www.aegis.com/news/afp
14
www.aegis.com/news/afp

3
EMPOWERMENT OF PEOPLE THROUGH PARTICIPATION

Different ways and methods can be applied and adopted to achieve the twin objectives of
poverty reduction and improving governance. In this paper the focus will be to highlight how
people can be empowered by making them directly participate in different activities and projects
and thus better and improve their lot which also forms the topic of this paper i-e “Empowerment of
people through participation – Case Study of Pakistan”.

PAKISTAN’S CASE

In this conference the area under study is the Asia and the pacific Region which is home
to about two-thirds of the world’s poor. Pakistan’s case is quite pertinent as it can be
advantageous for other member countries to follow because Pakistan is one of the seven
countries of the South Asian Region which is one of the poorest regions and is home to around
15
490 million people.

Before discussing the topic threadbare, it is thought prudent to clarify certain

terminologies which will help in understanding the issue in a better way. Let us begin by analyzing
the term poverty. As discussed earlier, poverty does not mean only delivering from starvation.
The concept has rather widened to include issues like universal primary education, better health
facilities, availability of clean drinking water, sanitation, removing gender disparity and
empowering women, and the provision of clean environment, which are also accepted as the
Millennium Development Goals. This means empowerment will have to be done with a view to
achieving these broader goals. Empowerment technically means “the expansion of the assets
and capabilities of poor people to participate in, negotiate with, influence, control, and hold
16
accountable the institutions that affect their lives”. This means that people should not only be
given the rights and resources but they should also have access to information, they can
participate, they can hold those exercising authority accountable and the local organizational
capacity. This will result in provision of basic services, improved local and national governance
and access to justice.

Pakistan has a population of 145.5 million having a sex ratio (Male:Female) of 108.5 :
17
100 . The incidence of poverty is 32.1 percent in 2000-01 – the last estimates available in the
18
country based on the poverty - line of Rs.748.56 per month per adult equivalence in 2000-01. In
the past couple of years the economy has shown improvement as the basic economic indicators
suggest. A comparison of the two periods is shown below:

Items 2000-01 2004

National 27.30 23.10
Urban 23.10 13.60
Rural 30.60 28.35
Source: Centre for Research on Poverty Reduction and
Income Distribution (CRPRID)

No doubt the economic condition has shown recovery and the incidence of poverty has
slightly declined, it has been rightly argued that the results and benefits of economic growth,
improvement of public services, and human development do not automatically trickle down to the

15
www.worldbank.org/poverty
16
Workshop on “Corruption: Its Consequences and Cures”; Stanford University; Deepa Narayan, Senior
Adviser, PREM, World Bank
17
Population Association of Pakistan
18
Economic Survey of Pakistan, 2003-04

4
 19
poor: the structure that creates poverty need to be addressed. Therefore conscious efforts shall
have to be made to not only make this possible but at the same time start such programs which
directly and instantly improve the lot of the poor people.

In the lines to follow an effort will be made to highlight projects like Orangi Pilot Project,
Khuda Ki Basti (Squatter Settlement) Project, Agha Khan Rural Support Program and its
Replicas, Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper of the IMF, and The Devolution Plan. In all these
projects, the direct participation of the people contributed immensely to the success of these
projects producing numerous quantifiable.

THE ORANGI PILOT PROJECT:

Karachi, the biggest and the most industrialized city of the country as also the hub of
commercial and economic activity has the largest “Katchi Abadi” (squatter settlement) by the
name of Orangi. It covers an area of 8,000 acres and has a population of about one million living
20
in 94,122 houses. The settlement began in 1965. Stated in the simplest terms, Orangi Pilot
Project (OPP) was launched to regularize the squatter settlement and to lend some dignity to the
living conditions of the poor thereby solving to a small extent the housing problem of the poor and
low-income groups. However it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is far more than that
as this project not only fulfills the basic ingredients of empowerment i-e it has given the right to
information, to participate, and to hold accountable those who exercise authority but also tackles
the problem of poverty both in its social and economic perspectives as also envisaged in the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG) only through the process of participation.

The description of OPP will not be complete without referring to Mr. Akhtar Hameed
Khan, who is recognized globally as one of the outstanding social scientists of our age. He is best
known as the author of two remarkable and internationally acclaimed community development
projects i-e during the sixties he was the Director of the Comilla Project in East Pakistan, now
Bangladesh and since 1980, he had been the Director of the Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi. The
OPP is an urban project funded by an NGO. The author aptly highlights the importance of
participation of the local people in any project undertaken in these words, “Most programs
developed for the poor in the Third World fail because they are designed by professionals who
belong to the upper classes and are not fully conversant with the sociology, economics, and
culture of the low-income communities or the causes of conditions in low-income settlements.”
The same pattern was also tried on a small portion of Orangi by United Nations Commission for
Human Settlement (UNCHS) in collaboration with the erstwhile BCCI. Two million US dollars
were donated, a Chief Technical Adviser (CTA) was appointed by UNCHS and as expected found
everything wrong with OPP from the professional’s point of view. However, after six years all the
21
programs of CTA fizzled out and all the projects were reverted back to OPP. Mr. Akhtar
Hameed Khan is strictly against publicity in the beginning of such projects. In his opinion as a
project grows, the intelligent people should be informed by means of accurate and well-
documented reports by impartial evaluators. On the above principles and approach, the OPP has
been operating a number of programs which include a Low-Cost Sanitation Program financed
and managed by the people; a Housing Program; a Basic Health and Family Planning Program; a
Program of supervised Credit for Small Family Enterprise Units; an Education Program; and a
Rural Development Program in the Villages around Karachi.

OPP was sponsored by Agha Hassan Abedi of BCCI. It began working from 1 April,
1980. Let us discuss all its program one by one.

19
Innovations in Governance and Public Administration for Poverty Reduction in Thailand: Dr. Orapin
Sopchokchai
20
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
21
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections

5
 1. Low-Cost Sanitation Program: All the projects undertaken by OPP were praise
worthy but the sanitation project needs special mention because laying sewer lines
was too technical; it involved huge sums of money; the open drains polluted the
environment and thus posed great health hazards. OPP does not itself carry out
development work, but promotes community organizations and co-operative action
and provide technical support to such initiatives. It was this approach which the OPP
followed and which encouraged the people to participate and to adopt the course of
action which they thought suited their requirements and was simultaneously cost-
effective. The OPP’s sanitation program has brought about major environmental
changes and at no cost to the government. Over eighty percent of Orangi Township
22
has built its own sanitation system.

In 1980 bucket latrines or soak pits were being used for the disposal of human
excreta and open sewers for the disposal of waste water. For the change to be
brought about which not only required a lot of money but at the same time was too
technical; OPP was required to play a very diverse sort of a role to address the issue
from both the angles. OPP succeeded in bringing about this change through different
means which involved convincing the people for a sanitation system by showing them
how to reduce the cost, by removing the economic and psychological barrier and by
providing the technical assistance through its social organizers and technicians. OPP
was able to bring down the cost to approximately US$ 40 for sanitary latrines, house
connection, share of lane sewerage line and the share of secondary drain line by
offering technical guidance/knowledge and tools to the people, thus enabling them to
escape kickbacks and profiteering. Low-income house-owners have constructed, with
their own money and management, as of February, 1995, 5,256 underground
sewerage lines (1,322,859 RFT) and 80,503 sanitary latrines by investing 62.73
23
million rupees. The best thing about it is that it has been replicated by UNICEF,
World bank and ADB in their projects in Sukkar and Hyderabad, the Sindh Katchi
24
Abadi Authority and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation.

2. Low-Cost House Building: The importance of low-cost houses which the residents
of Orangi built with assistance from the OPP can be understood from the fact that the
formal sector in Pakistan provides only 180,600 housing units per year in the urban
sector, against a demand of 428,000. The annual deficit of 257,400 housing units is
taken care of by the creation of squatter settlements and informal sub-division of
25
agricultural land. The important point is how OPP became successful in reducing
the cost so dramatically that even poor people could build their own houses from their
own resources. There were a lot of factors involved in it. First of all research was
carried out as to the deficiencies/defects of Orangi houses through the research and
extension approach of OPP. The middle men were strictly kept out to discourage
speculation and avoid an abnormal increase in the prices. Through the technical
assistance of the OPP, all the machines – concrete mixer, vibrator, pump and moulds
26
– were made locally at a total cost of Rs. 75,000 (approx. US$ 2,000). The quality
of building blocks was improved, alternative roofing design substituting RCC was
introduced, the pre-cast stair cases were used and the masons were imparted
training. All these changes were brought about to reduce the cost and bring it within
the reach of poor people who positively delivered.

3. Health and Family Planning: In June, 1984 the OPP started a pilot program of
imparting basic health education to low-income housewives. In 1985, at the

22
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
23
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
24
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
25
Pakistan Low-Cost housing Project Report: 1989, ADB
26
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections

6
 insistence of Dr. Sheila McCraw of ODA, family planning education was also included
in the program. The lady health visitors report that even illiterate Pathan wives were
eager to learn, from our health teams, the prevention of disease and spacing of birth.
As a result of OPP sanitation system and health programs, infant mortality rate had
27
fallen from 130 per thousand in 1984 to 37 in 1991. It was all achieved by adopting
innovative options. For example, instead of a fixed center or clinic, which would have
been required in abundance for such a big locality and which might have become
impracticable because of high cost, OPP introduced a new system of a) mobile
training teams, b) a selected activist or contact lady for ten or twenty lanes, c) regular
scheduled meetings at the activist’s house and d) formation of a neighbourhood
group by the activist. In this way it was found out that by 1994 a great awareness
about health and hygiene has been created. Orangi wives were now willing to pay for
immunization, contraceptives, and other medical services. A survey showed that 646
28
private clinics had been set up to cater to this demand.

4. Education in Orangi: Education in Orangi is a success story too. Orangi schools,

without any assistance from government or external sources, have raised the literacy
of Orangi residents to over seventy-eight percent as against an estimated Karachi
average of sixty two percent. A survey showed that Orangi had a total of 585 formal
schools including pre-primary, primary and secondary besides religious teaching
schools informal tuition centers and technical institutes. Of these formal schools only
eleven percent is set up by the government whereas eighty-five percent are set up by
the people themselves. Not only this, these schools provided employment to 2,389
29
teachers and surprisingly the percentage of male and female teachers is 31:69.
This not only empowered the women greatly but also removed gender disparity.
Another positive aspect of these schools is the fact that most of these schools are co-
educational. This was non-aggressive, non-ostentatious, refined, and modest
30
emancipation which was gaining acceptance in a highly conservative environment.

5. Empowerment of Orangi Women: Another great achievement of OPP is the

empowerment of women. In Orangi, women are not only emerging as workers, they
are also emerging as entrepreneurs. Since 1987, Orangi Trust has been giving loans
to family enterprise units. Until February, 1995 Rs. 48.5 million had been given to
3,159 units employing at least fifteen thousand workers. Of these, at least forty
percent workers are females. 613 of these units are managed entirely by women
entrepreneurs. They have borrowed Rs. 8.75 million and repaid Rs. 5.9 million.
These women entrepreneurs are managing forty five categories of enterprises, the
largest number being stitching centers (222) and consumer stores (105). In addition
they are managing 33 schools, 7 industrial homes, 14 clinics, 6 beauty parlours, 34
31
workshops etc.

OPP is a story of people’s participation. One would rarely find such a classic story of
success of the poor people through their own participation in projects which they themselves
thought if completed and implemented would not only help them throw away the cloak of poverty
but tremendously improve their social and economic living standards. It is an excellent example to
be replicated in all poor segments of developing countries with a guaranteed success provided
they followed the principles OPP followed. OPP is in fact the success story of Mr. Akhtar Hameed
Khan which also indicates the only sad or weak aspect of the whole episode. This is because it
should have been the government which should have been concerned and conceived such

27
Health survey of Al-Fateh Colony in Orangi carried out by the Agha Khan Medical University and the
OPP
28
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
29
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
30
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections
31
Akhtar Hammed Khan; Orangi Pilot Project; Reminiscences and Reflections

7
projects. The government should have at least learnt the right lessons from it and should have
replicated it them throughout the poorer regions of the country.

KHUDA KI BASTI:

Khuda ki Basti (God’s Settlement) is again a low-income housing project. It was started
with an approach to provide ease of entry and immediate delivery of plots to the needy and poor.
Development of infrastructure and services would be incremental i-e initial services will be limited
to the basics which can be increased and improved as and when the financial conditions of the
residents permit. The major difference between Khuda ki Basti and the Orangi Pilot Project was
the greater role of government and public agencies in Khuda ki Basti because it was being
developed by the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) which is a government body. The
weak point of the whole scheme again is the one-man show behind its success who this time is
the Director General of HDA and who was able to transmit this passion to his staff as well. The
worst part of these one-man show schemes is that despite their tremendous replicability
potentials, these schemes are not replicated with the same zeal and spirit because such persons
who can carry forward this mission are not found for other schemes.

In Khuda ki Basti Scheme, the land delivery concept and procedures were the most
successful which kept the prices low. Conscious efforts were made to discourage speculation.
Between March 1986 and January 1990, 2,883 plots had been allotted in the scheme. Of these,
32
2,683 had been constructed upon. The physical services were developed with the passage of
time. Since this scheme was developed by HDA therefore water with house connections were
provided by HDA. HDA however did not have a smooth sailing because the block organizations
which were created to deal with HDA on behalf of the residents could not become very popular
and hence the relations of HDA and block organizations were not very conducive to development.
Notwithstanding this turbulence in the relations between HDA and the block organizations, the
Basti did remarkably well in the acquisition of services. A total of 1,367 water connections were
provided in addition to 90 water stand-posts. Two hundred and sixteen electric connections were
acquired (which served more than 600 houses through indirect connections), and NOCs for
additional 500 were given. Sanitation was slow to develop as it was a priority only after electricity.
However 20 percent of the people had sewerage connections and 35 percent had built soak
33
pits. Social sector facilities were provided by a mix of efforts by the private entrepreneurs,
NGOs and public agencies. Thus in 1990, there were five proper schools in the Basti and six
34
clinics, including one BHU and one women’s center. House building was of average quality by
Hyderabad standards which could have been improved by research. Physical plan was also not
conducive to the humans because it was not compatible with the low-income settlements.

Khuda ki Basti Scheme was aimed at identifying land delivery and development models
to overcome the housing problems of the poor and cater to their shelter needs. Despite having
certain problem areas, the scheme provided land and social services to the people at affordable
prices without burdening the government. It has all the possibilities and potentials of replicability
because it is entirely self-financing, it is simple in approach and all procedures are transparent. It
is highly flexible to execute or modify; provision of services is linked to cost recovery; and cheap
technology is used for house construction. The scheme is sustainable in the long run because of
the involvement of the community.

AGHA KHAN RURAL SUPPORT PROGRAM AND ITS REPLICAS

The Agha Khan Rural Support Program and its replicas are even greater success stories
of people’s participation and community organization than the OPP and the Khuda ki Basti. What
these RSPs have been able to do better than any other large scale development efforts has been

32
The Story of Khuda ki Basti: Shelter for the Shelterless; Aquila Ismail
33
The Story of Khuda ki Basti: Shelter for the Shelterless; Aquila Ismail
34
The Story of Khuda ki Basti: Shelter for the Shelterless; Aquila Ismail

8
 35
to organize people and enable them to be included in mainstream development opportunities.
From a poverty reduction perspective, the assumption behind this model is that people, especially
the poor, are willing to do many things themselves and invest their own resources in order to
better their own lives and improve the overall welfare of the communities of which they are a part.
The model draws its strength from being participatory in nature rather than representative. In
economic terms, the model is geared towards achieving economies of scale for poor
36
communities. The inception of the RSP movement and its evolution can best be understood in
the context of the service delivery gap in the country, on the one hand, and the need for including
the poor in the mainstream economic activities on the other. As an end result, they all point to the
extraordinary potential which the poor and low-income people have to solve their problems and
improve their living conditions provided they are made a part of the whole process and are
enabled to participate in the activities aimed at improving their lot and an awareness created
among them about the positive results which such participation would have on their lives.
However there is one striking difference between these Rural Support programs (RSPs) and the
OPP or Khuda ki Basti project. Whereas OPP and Khuda ki Basti were primarily housing projects
aimed at providing better housing facilities to the poor and low income groups, these RSPs have
a broader perspective of rural development. We shall now briefly review the AKRSP.

The establishment of the RSPs started with the establishment of the Agha Khan Rural
Support Program (AKRSP). The AKRSP was established by the Agha Khan Foundation Pakistan
(AKFP) in 1982 as a private, nonprofit support organization for rural development, particularly for
37
northern Pakistan. The program emphasizes productivity, equitability, sustainability, and
replicability. It plans with the people, building on what the villagers know and the resources they
possess. Therefore, it stresses participation by the membership of social organization in all
phases of the program. It rests on the generalized principles of cooperative behaviour through
38
participation, distilled from experiments in Germany and Japan. The AKRSP was established to
promote the following four basic objectives:

1. Raise the incomes and quality of life of about one million mostly poor people in
the high mountains and isolated regions of northern Pakistan
2. Develop institutional and technical models for equitable development.
3. Evolve sustainable, long-term strategies for productive management of natural
resources in a fragile environment.
39
4. Demonstrate approaches and packages that can be replicated elsewhere.

Working on the basis of these principles, the AKRSP offered to the people a package of
practical methods based on the principle of equitable participation for alleviating poverty on a
sustainable basis. This included the one-time grant of AKRSP for a Productive Physical
Infrastructure (PPI) project. The prospects of mobilizing individual savings and their use as
collateral for productive loans from AKRSP were no less appealing. Then there was the promise
to create new skills at the village level to increase the productive capacity of villagers and finally
the AKRSP was offering support for making production inputs available through credit and for
introducing new inputs and technologies or grafting them to the existing systems. Of all the
incentives offered by the AKRSP through its package, significant progress was witnessed on all
the fronts but the role played by AKRSP in the realm of training is even commendable. Initially it
started separate courses in poultry management, marketing, accounting, and appropriate
technology. AKRSP now offers about 150 regular courses, in addition to several refresher

35
Shanghai Conference on Scaling up Poverty Reduction, May 2004
36
Shanghai Conference on Scaling up Poverty Reduction, May 2004
37
Rural Change in the Third World; Pakistan and the AKRSP; Mahmood Hasan Khan and Shoaib Sultan
Khan
38
Rural Change in the Third World; Pakistan and the AKRSP; Mahmood Hasan Khan and Shoaib Sultan
Khan
39
Rural Change in the Third World; Pakistan and the AKRSP; Mahmood Hasan Khan and Shoaib Sultan
Khan

9
courses, and organizes several field demonstrations. Since 1983 about 11,000 individuals have
been instructed through the AKRSP training system. It has also provided foreign training to thirty
two individuals, through eight degree courses and twenty four short courses in a variety of
40
fields.

The work started with the formation of Village organizations (VO) to deal on behalf of the
people while interacting with the AKRSP staff. The initial purpose of the VO was to implement
and maintain the PPI project, start a collective (group) savings program, and nominate and
support a cadre of village specialists trained by AKRSP. However with the passage of time they
have acquired a longer-term perspective on village development.

A very positive aspect of the AKRSP is the fact that it never ignored the women as
gender inequality can be a major constraint in improving the quality of life for women and in the
development of rural households. It is more so for the northern areas of Pakistan where women
play a major role in the rural economy and share many of the activities with male members of the
household. AKRSP has assisted them separately and jointly with men to form Women’s
Organization (WO) for the same purpose as the VO. The AKRSP has placed special emphasis on
strengthening the institutional capacity of rural women to enable them to promote their welfare
and that of their household on an ongoing basis. In view of the high workload placed on women,
AKRSP has attempted to focus on three major objectives for women i-e increased productivity,
enhanced institutional capacity, and a reduced workload. The AKRSP has never neglected the
training needs of the women and particularly after 1986 when the program for WOs gained
momentum.

In nutshell, it can be safely said that through mobilizing communities and improving
infrastructure, AKRSP was able to enhance access to markets and to education and health
services. Not only did health and education outcomes improve as a result of this integrated
development approach but their vulnerability, for example exposure to health shocks or food
shortages was also reduced. The improvement in the condition and position of women also
throws ample light on the positive role it played in this arena. The most recent World Bank
evaluation of AKRSP states that AKRSP’s high level of inputs (consistent delivery of considerable
resources) was effective in delivery of a high level of outputs, had a high economic rate of return,
41
and had a positive, measurable impact on reducing poverty.

We shall now discuss some statistical differences which the initiation of AKRSP created in
the area and lives of the people which necessitated its replicability.

1. Evidence on incomes and poverty from northern Pakistan is available from 1991 onwards
and indicates significant growth in income per capita. Incomes were less than one-third of
the national average in 1991, rising to more than half of the national average in 2001.
While national economic growth slowed considerably in the 1990s, the NAC (Northern
Areas and Chitral) economy experienced impressive growth in per capita income of 84
percent from 1991 to 2001.
2. While poverty showed a rising trend in the national economy, it dropped dramatically in
NAC from about two-thirds to about one-third of the population from 1991 to 2001.
3. The incomes of village organization members were found to be 15-20% higher than those
of non-members.
4. Using conservative assumptions, the calculated ERR for AKRSP’s investment falls in the
42
range of 16% to 24%, well above the usual experience in similar programs.
“At a time when ‘rural development’ as a development strategy is out of favour, the
AKRSP model provides a hopeful prospect that rural development can be made to work,

40
Rural Change in the Third World; Pakistan and the AKRSP; Mahmood Hasan Khan and Shoaib Sultan
Khan
41
World Bank 2002
42
World Bank 2002

10
 43
given half-way favourable circumstances.” This evaluation of World Bank of the AKRSP
coupled with the service delivery gap in the country and the need for including the poor in
mainstream economic activities on the other compelled the federal and the provincial
governments, international agencies and the NGOs to replicate the model. Thus the following
programs started:

Sarhad Rural Support Program 1989

Balochistan Rural Support Program 1991
National Rural Support Program 1992
Ghazi Barotha Taraqiati Idara 1995
Lachi Poverty Reduction Program 1997
Tardeep Rural Development Program 1997
Punjab Rural Support Program 1998
Sind Rural Support Program 2003
44
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Rural Support Program 2004

In the case of NRSP, the largest RSP, it has been estimated that the membership in a
community organization resulted in about 7.5% higher household incomes annually. Similarly,
45
NRSP estimates show that the poverty levels were lower in member households. 8% of the
NRSP respondents ate their fill daily, 68% are better than before, 50% felt improvement in health,
46
and 82% experienced a sustainable increase in income after accessing credit. A study of 35
rural water supply schemes in Punjab concluded that NRSP schemes had a higher success rate
in sustainable service delivery than schemes undertaken directly by the Government and that
47
such schemes were also more cost effective.

Today the rural support programs form the largest group of non-government
organizations working for poverty reduction in Pakistan. The RSPs work in over 70% districts and
48
are still expanding their coverage. They maintained their autonomy and integrity through a non-
confrontational approach and by all means they are justifying the purpose for which they were set
up.

POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGY PAPER, UNEMPLOYMENT AND MICRO-CREDIT

Whereas all other steps in this paper other than the one under description were projects
and an end in themselves to empower people and to improve their condition, the poverty
reduction strategy paper is a set of policies on the basis of which different programs have been
initiated and can be initiated to empower people, reduce poverty and improve their social and
economic conditions. First of all the PRSP broadly outlines the deficiencies on the part of the
government which can be summarized as follows:

• The vicious circle of poverty is accentuated when the governance structures exclude the
most vulnerable from the decision-making process.
• Since the minimum wage is not regulated effectively, access to employment opportunities
does not guarantee an end to poverty.
• Another key determinant which exacerbates the incidence and impact of poverty is weak
governance that includes ineffective government, inefficient allocation of available
resources, weak implementation of development projects and national priorities,

43
World Bank 2002
44
Shanghai Conference on Scaling up Poverty Reduction, May 2004
45
Khan 2002
46
Pakistan National Human Development Report 2003
47
Khan 1999.
48
Shanghai Conference on Scaling up Poverty Reduction, May 2004

11
 inefficient judicial system, poor service delivery performance and corruption leakage,
49
among others.

The paper also highlights the lessons learnt from the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (IPRSP) which are as follows:

1. Broad-based economic growth is a must for poverty reduction.

2. Economic liberalization must continue to provide opportunities for private sector
development.
3. Access to education, health, safe drinking water and rural infrastructure are key for better
human development outcomes along with economic growth and therefore must be
improved.
4. The delivery of goods and services in an equitable and efficient manner cannot be
ensured without good governance.

Keeping in view the deficiencies as listed above on the part of government and the lessons
learnt from the IPRSP, the Government is planning or executing quite a number of policies or
projects. Since these are on an all Pakistan basis therefore it would not be possible to mention all
of them here. We shall thus focus on micro-finance, how it empowers people and particularly the
women.

Micro-finance is fast emerging as a viable tool to address the question of poverty

reduction as it enables the poor to

1. gradually build their assets;

2. develop their micro-enterprises;
3. enhance their income earning capacity;
4. smoothen consumption;
5. manage risks better;
6. empowers poor, especially women;
7. enhances economic growth; and
8. contribute to integration of financial markets;

In line with the PRSP objectives, the Micro-Finance Sector Development Program (MFDP)
has been launched with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank, to broaden and deepen
the micro-finance market in order to reduce poverty. The government has initiated a number of
policy actions for the development of the MF sector. These include:

• Khushali Bank: It is providing services in over 40 districts mobilizing over 100,000

households. Over 31 percent of its employees and 35 percent of its clients are women.
The bank is targeting a client base of over 650,000 households by 2006.
• Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund: Its geographical outreach has expanded to 87
districts with total 3.299 million beneficiaries. In view of its significant progress, the World
Bank has provided another credit of US $238 million to provide a boost to microfinance
activities.
• In addition, Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), First Women bank (FWB), Khyber Bank,
and the Rural Support Programs are involved in credit allocation to small enterprises.
Pakistan will extend MF to one million households by the year 2005 through the lead MF
institutions, new private sector MFIs, commercial banks and ZTBL, and semi-formal
institutions and NGOs.
• Khushak Pakistan Program/Tameer-e-Pakistan Program/DERA: The Government
launched Khushal Pakistan Program to improve farm-to-market roads, water supply,

49
Accelerating Economic Growth and Reducing Poverty: The Road Ahead; Poverty Reduction strategy
Paper, Government of Pakistan

12
 sanitation, water courses etc. (in total 17 projects). The Government has so far provided
Rs. 31.5 billion since March 2000 to finance 34,812 schemes selected through
community participation. This program has generated 0.9 million temporary employment
providing essential infrastructure in rural and low-income urban areas.

In addition to MF, through the PRSP, the way steps are being taken to empower women is
also commendable. The Government has realized this and have taken practical steps in this
regard. Women participation rate in the governance structure of Pakistan has improved sharply.
Following amendments in the Constitution and promulgation of Local Government Ordinance,
2001, at least 33 percent of seats in each tier of local government are women. In the National
Assembly, women out of 332 seats hold more than 60 seats while women over128 seats out of
728 seats in the provincial assemblies. Similarly, there are 17 women in the Senate out of 100
members. While most of these women have been elected on reserve seats, some have won on
general seats. Not only this, the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) allocation for
women Development has been enhanced to Rs. 810 million in 2003-04 against estimated
expenditure of Rs.600 million in 2002-03.

It may be quite evident that the PRSP has so far been quite instrumental in meeting its
objectives of reduction of poverty and contributing to the social and economic development. Not
only this aspects like micro finance and empowering women are issues which have all the
potential to be replicated to improve the condition of the people.

THE DEVOLUTION PLAN

The best way to empower people is to involve them in decision-making process so that
they can themselves decide about the course of action for their future. “The Devolution Plan” was
a step in this direction. It was one of the seven objectives of President General Pervez
rd
Musharraf’s reform measures announced on October 17, 1999. It was on 23 March, 2000 that
the Government of Pakistan announced the plan of devolution of certain government functions to
the local government. The new local government system is primarily designed to be people
centered, responsibility based and service oriented at the grass root level to create an enabling
50
environment in which the people can be the masters of their own destiny.
51
The basic principles employed for the creation of new model were the following:

- People centered
- Rights and responsibilities
i) Right to development
ii) Right to participation
iii) Right to information

The operational mechanisms employed for the purpose were:

- Bottom-up methodology
- Consensus building
- Issued based politics
- Bridging of rural urban divide
- Training
- Entrepreneurial approach to governance

50
Linkages between Provincial, District, Tehsil and Union Council: Syndicate Report, National Institute of
Public Administration, Lahore
51
Evolving a Clear-Cut Demarcation of the Role of DCO Viz-a-Viz District Nazim in Grey Areas;
Syndicate Report, National Institute of Public Administration, Lahore

13
 The empowerment targets were the following:

- Devolution of power
- Decentralization of authority
- De-concentration of management functions
- Diffusion of the power-authority nexus
- Distribution of resources

The objective of the plan of devolution is to devolve political power and decentralize
administrative and financial authority to accountable local governments for good governance,
effective delivery of services and transparent decision-making through institutionalized
52
participation of the people at the grass-root level.

With objective, design and principles, the devolution plan implemented all over Pakistan,
th
except Islamabad, the Capital territory, on the 14 of August, 2001. The intension no doubt was
noble and once implemented in letter and spirit would guarantee maximum empowerment to the
people right. However the system is in its nascent stages with only three years of implementation
period, therefore it might take a bit longer to deliver the goods as envisaged. No doubt there were
and are problems and hiccups but it has to be admitted that “need based development
expenditure is a tremendous success and the best achievements have been in the field of
development. One district decided to pay for provision of Sui gas to a large number of its
residents in the large town. Another district focused on the improvement of sanitary conditions
and waste disposal. The new system has encouraged the managers and civil servants to the
micro-management of administration especially social sectors. There have been reports of
wonderful results from various districts. For instance, one district has upgraded facilities of about
900 schools. Despite limited availability of development funds for the district, there was no paucity
of funds for education and health. The decentralized purchase of medicines has weeded out
53
corruption and improved the quality and standard of medicines.”

It is evident that the devolution plan is paying and the advantages are not only increasing
but are meaningful as well. In conclusion it would not be out of place to say that the concept is
right. People at the grass-root level should be empowered because this is the best way to reduce
poverty and improve governance. No doubt it has faced major problems and restraints and is
likely to be the same in future but one must keep this in mind as well that democracy in Pakistan
did not have a smooth sailing even at the national level.

CONCLUSION:

The projects discussed above amply highlight that involvement and active participation of
people can lead to significant improvement in their standards of living by reducing the incidence
and level of poverty. The success of those projects which appeared rather technical, difficult to
execute and quite expensive was made possible in far easier and cost effective manner through
enlisting the support and co-operation of the people of the area.

The projects also conferred upon people a sense of empowerment and confidence owing
to which they, instead of looking towards the government, concentrated on their own strengths
and abilities to better their lot. There has also been awareness throughout the country that much
can be done by the people to alleviate poverty and provide basic amenities of life on self-help
basis. These projects have also shown immense replicabilty potential which is also a very healthy
sign for the alleviation of poverty.

52
Punjab Local Government Ordinance, 2001
53
Evolving a clear-cut demarcation of the role of DCO viz-a-viz District Nazim in grey areas; Syndicate
Report, National Institute of Public administration, Lahore

14
 However, empowerment of people through participation is one of the factors and not the
only factor that plays a significant role in poverty alleviation. Other factors like fiscal
decentralization, human resource management, improving governance and strengthening of the
democratic institutions are equally important and cannot and should not be ignored. Ignoring any
one of these factors will yield less than satisfactory results.

15