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The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $133 million to improve governance and public resource management in Balochistan.
The project will help the provincial governmentâ?Ts reform governance structures, systems, and procedures to achieve two main targets-an improved fiscal situation and better public and private service delivery.
Balochistan is Pakistanâ?Ts largest province covering 47 per cent of the countryâ?Ts total area but comprising only five per cent of the population. The province has a wealth of natural resources, such as minerals and hydrocarbons, which remain largely unexplored.
Despite efforts to develop Balochistanâ?Ts economic and social sectors, there is little industrial activity, and job opportunities outside agriculture and mining are limited.
Data on the incidence of poverty is sketchy, but there are indications that it may be as high as 47 per cent, while social indicators are poor and gender disparities are significant, says the Bank.
The Balochistan government has limited fiscal scope, and expenditures allocated do not adequately reflect medium-term policy priorities. Allocations are not enough to cover the growing needs for the operation and maintenance of public services.
Water resources are also severely degraded, further limiting growth. Transparency and accountability mechanisms need improvement and access to justice and devolution need specific attention.
"A lack of good governance has been identified as a central element responsible for continuing low growth and increasing poverty within Balochistan," says Jorn Brommelhorster, an ADB Public Resource Management Specialist.
To improve the provinceâ?Ts finances so that it can fund sustainable and pro-poor development programmes, the project will rationalise poorly designed, untargeted subsidies; broaden the tax base, expand coverage, and rationalise user charges; establish reliable, transparent, and accountable financial management systems; and set up and implement transparent, rule-based systems of local government funding.
To improve process and supporting institutions for better public and private service delivery, the project will also reform administrative frameworks for effective public service delivery and create an enabling environment for private sector development, besides promoting public-private partnerships in service delivery. The project will also improve management and sustainability of water resources. | 
