Islamabad, May 8 – “Pakistan must capitalize on its strengths and improve on its weaknesses on the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum”, this was stated by Arthur Bayhan, CEO of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) here toady. He was making a presentation to the Ministry of Housing and Works on the indicators relevant to the housing sector in Pakistan. The CSF presentation was a part of CSF’s initiative to bring all the line- ministries on board to improve Pakistan’s ranking on the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum. Pakistan is ranked 91 on the GCI in 2006, where Pakistan showed improvement of 3 rankings from 94 to 91 in 2005.

Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz launched the State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report in March this year. The Prime Minister asked the Competitiveness Support Fund to brief all the line- ministries on the importance of competitiveness for economic growth. The Prime Minister termed competitiveness as a corner stone of Pakistan’s growth strategy. The Prime Minister also indicated that almost 60% of Pakistan’s population will be in the age bracket of 18 to 25 years. The economic experts have indicated that the recent economic growth will develop a large, productive and prosperous middle class in the country.

The State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report of the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF) and the World Economic Forum’s annual Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) identified low cost housing as an important aspect of improving Pakistan’s overall competitiveness. “Pakistan has to adopt innovative housing solutions for its growing middle class; this will not only create value for the growing number of hardworking population but will also address the growing demand for appropriate infrastructure for a viable economy, said Bayhan.

Speaking on the occasion, Abdur Rauf Chaudhary, Secretary of the Housing and Works Ministry, informed the CSF delegation that his ministry launched the National Housing Policy in 2001 and it is now coordinating with CBR and the provincial governments on various issues concerning the housing sector. He also said that, “the ministry is undertaking initiatives to provide appropriate housing for the low income groups”. In this regard we will be launching projects of upto 15,000 flats for the government employees soon in Islamabad; similar projects in Lahore, Karachi and other cities are in pipeline.”

Secretary, Housing also asked the CSF to make a special presentation to the “Housing Advisory Board”, which is chaired by the Minister for Housing. The board comprises of all relevant high level provincial and district government authorities and representatives from the private sector organizations. He urged the CSF to brief the board members on the competitiveness aspects of the housing sectors in Pakistan, as a policy guideline to improve the sectors’ competitiveness. Mr. Chaudhary proposed that CSF to make the presentation in the next meeting of the board in July 2007.

Arthur Bayhan in his presentation briefed the ministry on the strengths and weaknesses of the global indicators related to the housing sector in the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) of the World Economic Forum. He further elaborated the rational behind the indicators and pointed out that the data used for these indicators is not up-to-date. He said that the government made tremendous progress in the last four years and improved almost all the indicators respectively.

Mr. Bayhan said that the Ministry of Housing and Works has a crucial role in setting the standards for the infrastructure development in Pakistan. “Pakistan scores well overall in terms of infrastructure quality and notable progress in building infrastructure will continue. However, recent problems in supply and reliability of electricity need to be addressed. In some cases, innovative private-public partnerships can help expand infrastructure more rapidly than might otherwise be the case.”

Abdul Basit, Joint Secretary, Prime Minister’s Special Programme Wing, Ministry of Finance informed the meeting that the Prime Minister’s Special Programme Wing (PMSP) has been tasked to coordinate with all the ministries for a close interaction to work with the CSF on improving Pakistan’s competitiveness ranking. He also pointed out that other countries in the region are improving their competitiveness by investing in their infrastructure and Pakistan should not be left behind.

CSF is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Finance, Government of Pakistan and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). CSF Supports Pakistan’s goal to be of a more competitiveness economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and enhancing public-private partnerships within the country. CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship, business incubators and private-sector-led initiatives with research institutes and universities that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

Support for CSF is part of the $1.5 billion in aid that the U.S. Government is providing to Pakistan over five years to improve economic growth, education, health, and governance.

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