PROGRAM-FOR-RESULTS INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID)

APPRAISAL STAGE

Report No.: 81359

Program Name / Punjab Public Management Reform Program
Region / SAR
Country / Pakistan
Sector / SASGP
Lending Instrument / Program for Results
Program ID / P132234
Parent Program ID
Borrower(s) / Government of Pakistan
Implementing Agency / Planning and Development Board, Government of the Punjab
Date PID Prepared / May 8, 2013
Estimated Date of Appraisal Completion / August 1, 2013
Estimated Date of Board Approval / November 7, 2013

I.  Country Context

1.  Pakistan, the world’s sixth most populous country—with an estimated population of 187 million in 2011—is a lower-middle income country with a per-capita gross national income of US$ 1,050 in 2010. Punjab, the largest province in terms of population, despite being the wealthiest, faces significant poverty reduction and inequality challenges—its relative prosperity has not translated into commensurate improvements in the delivery of public services. It has also struggled to ensure that sufficient resources are available to meet its investment needs and sustain service delivery improvements.

2.  The provincial government is acutely cognizant of these challenges and has undertaken several initiatives to create fiscal space and improve the efficiency of service delivery. In particular, to consolidate and deepen these isolated efforts, the Government of the Punjab developed a Governance Reforms Roadmap encompassing nine themes to improve service delivery and citizens’ satisfaction with public services over the next five years. The “Roadmap” is estimated to cost PKR 40 billion (approximately US$ 407 million) over five years.

II.  Program Scope

3.  The most critical constraint to improving service delivery in Punjab is the weak performance management of the departments responsible for providing public services. Moreover, citizens face significant challenges in accessing government services due to the strongly entrenched position of field officials and other structural handicaps such as distance, language, cultural practices, and lack of information about services. Punjab Public Management Reform Program (“the Program”) will focus on addressing these constraints. In particular, to sustain the reform momentum the Program will improve the performance monitoring and transparency of the targeted departments and support revenue-raising efforts.

4.  Partnership with DFID. The Program is being developed in close coordination with the Sub-national Governance Program (SNGP) supported by the UK Department of International Development (DFID). Both programs will share implementation structures to facilitate coordination and to exploit synergies at the provincial and district level. The DFID Awaaz program, which funds civil society participation, will also be leveraged to increase civil society engagement with the Program’s transparency and performance monitoring aspects.

III.  Program Development Objective(s)

5.  The Program Development Objective is to improve transparency and resource management of targeted departments of the province of Punjab.

6.  The key outcomes to be achieved are the following:

·  Improved citizens’ access to information about key services.

·  Improved management of key services.

·  Improved urban property tax collection.

IV.  Environmental and Social Effects

7.  An environmental and social management system assessment (ESSA) was conducted to review the existing systems’ scope for environmental and social management. The ESSA concludes that there is, largely, adequate policy, institutional, and legal capacity and provisions to ensure that the Program’s social and environmental effects are positive. The World Bank has agreed with the government on specific actions to strengthen the social management systems to ensure positive benefits.

V.  Financing

The Program is expected to cost US$ 70.22 million.

Table 1. Program Financing (US$ Million)

Provincial government / 20.22 / 30.7%
IBRD/IDA / 50 / 69.3%
Total / 70.22 / 100%

VI.  Program Institutional and Implementation Arrangements

8.  The Program has four implementing agencies. These include the Punjab Resource Management Program (the executing agency), Punjab Information Technology Board, Public Procurement Regulatory Authority, and Excise and Taxation Department (although many other government departments will use the systems developed or strengthened by program interventions). These four agencies will work with the government’s line departments to implement the program interventions in their respective result areas as per their mandate, agreed timelines, and sequencing. The proposed institutional arrangements aim to influence the way the government functions in the context of the Program’s operation—first in the seven targeted departments (School Education, Higher Education, Health, Irrigation and Power, Livestock and Dairy Development, Agriculture, and Local Government and Local Development) and then beyond it. A provincial steering committee led by Chairman of the Planning and Development Board will oversee implementation.

VII.  Contact point

World Bank

Contact 1: Zubair K Bhatti

Title: Senior Public Sector Management Specialist

Tel: 0092-51-9090-206

Email:

Contact 2: Ana Bellver

Title: Senior Public Sector Management Specialist

Tel: 0091-11- 4147-9138

Email:

Borrower/Client/Recipient

Contact: Mr. Arif Anwar Baloch

Title: Secretary, Planning and Development Board

Tel: 0092-4299210017

Email:

Implementing Agencies

Contact: Saima Saeed

Title: Program Director, Punjab Resource Management Program

Tel: 0092-42-99200532

Email:

VIII.  For more information contact:

The InfoShop

The World Bank

1818 H Street, NW

Washington, D.C. 20433

Telephone: (202) 458-4500

Fax: (202) 522-1500

Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop