It might seem that the Prime Minister’s decision to hand over the plan prepared by British economist Stefan Dercon, to a ministerial committee for review, implied dissatisfaction with the plan, but actually it means that the plan is to be indigenized, and brought a degree of ‘buy-in’, with the inclusion of the Special Initiatives Facilitation Council national coordinator, Lt Gen Sarfraz Ahmad, ensuring that the Army is given a formal voice in this plan. A former chief economist at the UK’s Department for International Development, and currently a professor of economics at Oxford, Dr Dercon’s preparation of a plan for Pakistan was both surprising and hurtful for many economists. However, his report was bound to be vetted.
This is the first time since the 1960s that a foreign economist has advised a Pakistani government on how to run the economy. However, even before then, and continuously until the present day, foreign economists have been advising Pakistan indirectly, through the international financial institutions which have been employing them. This plan has been developed by an economist employed by the government of Pakistan, thus qualifying it as a homegrown plan. The plan is clearly not a ‘take Ãt-or-leave-it’ document, which falls if anything is changed. However, the plan is to be reviewed according to whether it accords with the PML(N) election manifesto and: The Planning Ministry’s 5Es (engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate) Framework. After all, it is also supposed to provide the government with its game plan for the rest of the term.
The Dercon plan springs no surprises, and anyone feeling that the long hard slog can be avoided (which is what critics really would like) would not like the plan, which is quite orthodox in that it recommends strict implementation of reforms and the exercise of political will to carry them through. There does not seem to be any magic bill or golden bullet, which would allow gain without pain. The high-powered committee, which is to be chaired by Deputy PM Ishaq Dar, must not allow any unreasonable or parochial objections to weigh on it. The target of 6 percent GDP growth combined with an exports target of $60 billion is not going to be achieved without strict discipline, even if there is some quick-fix solution in sight. If the Dercon plan can be made to work, it should. If the country benefits, it will not matter that Dercon is a Belgian settled in the UK.
