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Planning Minister directs timely completion of projects under 4RF

Ahsan Iqbal, the federal minister of planning, development, and special initiatives, officially presided over the first Policy & Strategy Committee meeting to implement the Resilient Recovery

The planning minister declared that the donor conference was a huge success for Pakistan as he presided over the gathering and noted that Pakistan received an unparalleled response. The International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan’s conclusions must be carried out as soon as possible in text and spirit, he declared.

In order for the projects to be implemented on schedule, the minister requested that all pertinent ministries and divisions create a timeline. To maintain the projects’ transparency, it was also determined during the meeting to carry out a third-party assessment.

The committee members had a lengthy discussion about the committee’s terms of reference (ToRs) throughout the meeting, and delegates from all over the nation shared their recommendations.

According to the ToRs, it will review and approve the 4RF’s policies, plans, strategies, and standards and guarantee expedited project approval. In a similar vein, the committee would guarantee financial oversight and prompt independent audits of programmes and projects by the Pakistani Auditor General and independent third-party audits.

Additionally, in order to guarantee the timely implementation of 4RF, the committee will conduct periodic reviews of sectoral policies and procurement practises. Additionally, it will be in charge of regulating how the federal and provincial levels’ recovery and reconstruction units (RRU) and implementation management committees operate. Monthly progress reviews will be conducted by the committee.

Three phases, including a short-term phase lasting up to one year, a medium-term phase lasting up to three years, and a long-term phase lasting up to five to seven years, would each see the 4RF materialise. The 4FR statement recommended effective coordination and participation agreements between federal and provincial governments, development partners, donors, international and national NGOs, academic and corporate sectors.

In a similar vein, a second Committee Recovery and Reconstruction Unit (RRU) was also created to work on the post-flood reconstruction projects envisioned in the 4RF. The chairman of the committee is the chief economist for the Planning Commission. The committee’s goals include coordinating the efforts of provincial and line ministries, updating the Policy & Strategy Committee on its work on a regular basis, and ensuring that minimum requirements for restoration and building are upheld.

The total cost of the catastrophe was estimated to be $30.1 billion in October of last year by the Post-Damage Needs Assessment (PDNA), which was carried out jointly by the government of Pakistan and its international development partners, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, and UN relief agencies.

Dr. Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, the state minister for finance, Sherry Rehman, the minister for climate change, Syed Murad Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh, as well as representatives from Punjab, KP, AJK, and GB attended the conference.

Written by Aly Bukshi

The editorial staff at IPIN is a team of news publishing experts led by Aly Bakshi. We publish interesting and informative news/articles all over the world. Our aim is to provide readers with the latest and most up-to-date information possible.