Message-ID: <199604100530.AA07169@sdnpk.undp.org> Date: Wed, 10 Apr 1996 06:22:11 -0400 From: Riaz Khan <mailto:RIAZKHAN%nldp@SDNPK.UNDP.ORG> Subject: MONITORING SOCIAL SECTORS To: Multiple recipients of list DEVEL-L <mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU>
Dear List members, I thought the following maybe of interest to you.An ambitious Social Action Program (SAP) has been initiated by the Government of Pakistan with the assistance of the International donors (WORLD BANK, ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANK, ODA etc) to improve services in the four social sectors namely Education, Health, RWSS and Population. It covers the period from (1992-1998). Under SAP the focus is on improving the existing infrastructure and delivery mechanisms through better management. In addition it will also focus on policy reforms and improvement of systems and procedures. The ultimate objective of the SAP exercise is to ensure that at the field level all facilities are running efficiently and are providing quality service. Below is my analysis of the Program's management issues and the implementation environment of SAP.
The implementation of SAP is based on the Annual Operational Plans and it forms the basis for monitoring during the year. The Operational Plan which includes both the Annual Development Plan ADP) and the Non- Development (Recurring) Budget is prepared for each Province, Federal Area and Federal Program. The importance of a well formulated plan cannot be overstated. The inclusion of development schemes in the ADP is the most critical stage. However to select a site properly, requires information about the existing sites and demand for services. Such information is not available at present. Inventory of existing sites and Mapping exercises have been initiated by the Government but at current rate and commitment level it will take a long time to complete. Thus the first weakness in planning arises from lack of planning information. The second flaw in the system arises when the established site selection criteria is knowingly disregarded by politicians and bureaucrats. The first flaw will eventually be rectified. The second one is more difficult to overcome and one may have to live with it. Improper site selection is one of the major factor for the poor performance of the facilities.
The construction stage itself is not critical. The only item which requires attention is that the facility should be properly designed and should cater to the local environment. The quality of construction should be of reasonable standard. A standard design or criteria can be easily developed. However to ensure that the quality of construction is of acceptable standard needs thorough monitoring. An inspection report is needed for each critical stage of construction. Here a decision is required whether the Inspection should be through third party or through inhouse staff. Third party reporting may be more objective than inhouse reporting but maybe more costly. Thus the quality and reliability of the inspection report can be improved only if a genuine third party is involved. The next question that arises is who is going to read the inspection report and take action on it? Under the existing organizational hierarchy of the Government it would probably be ignored and filed. Thus a mechanism needs to be developed under which an action will be taken on the inspection reports. Such an action seems difficult. The current practice is to start the recruitment process after the construction is completed. This leads to a delays in the startup of the facilities. By the time the staff is recruited the facility is in shambles. It can be easily rectified through proper phasing.
In order to ensure service quality it is necessary that the budgetary allocations are sufficient for the facility. The non- development allocation is so low that even before implementation the staff know that output quality of the services delivered will be poor. Can the situation be rectified. Probably not as the Government does not have sufficient resources. Assuming that the budgetary allocations are increased the next problem is of ensuring the timely and correct expenditure of the funds. Given the long process of approvals, corruption and poor coordination within the departments it would not be possible to provide the inputs at the right time, at the right place having the right quality and at the right price. Thus unless systems and procedures are improved alongside the budgetary allocations the efforts will be wasted. Great emphasis is being placed on policy reforms but it is a slow process and may take considerable length of time. Mostly the changes are on paper. Given the budgetary constraints of the Government and focus on improving the existing situation it is difficult to expect the quality and coverage to increase substantially over the next few years.
The line departments start the implementation of the non- development budget at the beginning of the fiscal year in July. At this stage the monitoring requirements are tremendous as the scale of operation and volume of work is large. Quality of service depends upon the quality of the human resources. There is no plan for upgrading the quality of staff and most activities are carried out by staff who are ill suited for the job. Moreover due to nepotism, corruption and lack of job satisfaction the moral of the staff is very poor. Expecting to improve services under such conditions where the staff is demoralized and with no budget even for stationery would not be possible. Is it possible to change the prevailing environment? Seems difficult.
In order to keep track of the services being provided it is essential that a proper MIS is established. EMIS (Educational Management Information System) and HMIS (Health Management Information system) are being implemented but in a haphazard way. Due to problems of data reliability,timeliness, coverage, analysis, reporting and funding the utilization of the exisiting MIS efforts is poor. Thus monitoring the activities of thousands of units and personnel in the absence of a computerized system becomes impossible. Bringing all the systems to full working conditions will require a great effort and commitment which is missing. Even if all MIS's could be made fully operational it may not lead to positive results unless an accountability process is in place. Most of the Officers know the problems but given the National culture cannot do anything about it. It is not possible to install an accountability system in a short period and in a society where the literacy rate is less than 30%. The political will is also lacking. The Management Information Systems which forms the basis for decision making will play a critical role in the success of SAP. The existing reporting and monitoring systems for SAP are inadequate and need to be improved if efficiency is to be increased. But there is a very little chance that a proper system can be put in place. Computer literacy is almost nil especially at the officers level.
Based on the above analysis the improvement in the social sectors will take place at the historical rates unless some revolutionary steps are taken and accountability is initiated. Donor projects have a life of a few years and cannot bring about the above changes. Moreover the donor projects operate on a very small scale and in a very conducive environment ie. with all facilities and funds at thier disposal. Most projects cannot be sustained at the same level afterwards.
I have put a lot of thought into the above problems and can find no solution. I cannot help but feel pessimistic.
Regards
Riaz Khan E-MAIL: raizkhan