Ahead of the general elections in Pakistan, the World Bank issued a candid warning for the upcoming government to make right choices. It clarified that international lenders and development partners could only advise with international experiences of successes and some financing. But the World Bank said that hard choices and course correcting decisions could only be taken within the country.
#Pakistan #WorldBank #PakistanEconomy #PakistanCrisis #PakistanGeneralElection
~HT.99~PR.152~ED.194~
#Pakistan #WorldBank #PakistanEconomy #PakistanCrisis #PakistanGeneralElection
~HT.99~PR.152~ED.194~
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00:00 Ahead of the general elections in Pakistan, the World Bank issued a candid warning for
00:05 the upcoming government to make the right choices.
00:08 It clarified that international lenders and development partners could only advise with
00:12 international experiences of successes and some financing.
00:16 But the World Bank said that hard choices and course-correcting decisions could only
00:21 be taken within the country.
00:22 World Bank officials said that Pakistan had been facing numerous economic hardships, including
00:27 inflation, rising electricity prices, severe climate shocks, and insufficient public resources
00:33 to finance development and climate adaptation, when the country was among the most vulnerable
00:38 to climate change in Paris.
00:40 Additionally, the World Bank said that Pakistan's average real per capita growth rate was just
00:45 1.7% between 2000 and 2020.
00:49 It is less than half the average per capita growth rate for South African countries over
00:52 the period and well below the average of competitor countries with similar economic structures.
00:59 The World Bank proposed shifting policies from underfunded, inefficient, and fragmented
01:03 service delivery and social protection systems towards coordinated, efficient, and adequately
01:09 financed service delivery targeting the most vulnerable.
01:13 It also advised a shift from wasteful and rigid public expenditures, benefiting a few,
01:18 towards tightly prioritized spending on public services, infrastructure, and investments
01:23 in climate adaptation, benefiting populations most in need.
01:27 According to reports, the Pakistani rupee touched a record low of 299.64 against the
01:33 dollar in the interbank market by further sliding 0.63% on Wednesday.
01:38 Pakistan is currently being governed by a caretaker government that is tasked with steering
01:42 the country through a national election.
01:44 Earlier in September, Islamabad witnessed a downfall in the productive and services
01:49 sectors.
01:50 Reports revealed that companies were scrambling to cut expenses and weighing the option of
01:54 job cuts, salary freeze, or reduction in salaries.
01:58 Although Pakistan was able to secure the IMF deal just in time, the conditions imposed
02:02 by the body are turning out to be tedious to implement.
02:05 Under this, Pakistan imposed additional taxes of 215 billion Pakistani rupees and slashed
02:10 expenditures by 85 billion Pakistani rupees in its budget.
02:15 With high inflation and foreign exchange reserves barely enough to cover one month of controlled
02:19 imports, Pakistan has been facing its worst economic crisis in decades.
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