Tag: Sustainable Development Goals

  • Pakistan’s volunteer network ‘MilKar’ wins Commonwealth Innovation Award

    Pakistan’s volunteer network ‘MilKar’ wins Commonwealth Innovation Award

    Pakistan’s largest volunteer network Milkar has won the esteemed Commonwealth Innovation Award for Sustainable Development 2023.

    The selection process spanned several months and involved over 70 jury members.

    Commonwealth’s Secretary General Patricia Scotland presented the prestigious award to team MilKar. It was a recognition of the 15 exceptional innovations from over 3,000 nominations across 56 Commonwealth countries.

    The design of Milkar is just like that of a platform like ‘Uber’ that connects volunteers with social projects and reimagines development challenges into volunteering opportunities. It aims at achieving sustainability by mobilising, connecting, and enabling the community to take ownership of projects, it rewrites the fundamental challenge of development initiatives.

    In the past three years, Milkar has become Pakistan’s largest independent youth volunteer platform. The network has grown to over 12,317 volunteers and 261 NGOs, which have worked on 566 community service projects impacting 2.9 million people.

    Moreover, MilKar took an initiative with the government to convert student volunteering hours into academic credits across several universities in Pakistan.
    Muhammad Hadi Saif, Head of Volunteers at MilKar, declared the award a significant accolade for Pakistan.

    Syed Kashf Ahmed, the Project Director, received this award as part of the Commonwealth Innovation Week organised in Nairobi, Kenya.

    The Commonwealth Innovation Awards acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of innovators in the public, private, and NGO sectors working on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Each award category aligns with the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnership.

  • APCC likely to propose Rs900-1,000 billion macroeconomic framework for budget 2023-24

    APCC likely to propose Rs900-1,000 billion macroeconomic framework for budget 2023-24

    The Annual Plan Coordination Committee (APCC) is poised to recommend a substantial macroeconomic framework and the size of the federal development outlay amounting to approximately Rs900-1,000 billion for the fiscal year 2023-24. This recommendation comes ahead of the upcoming budget and is expected to shape the economic policies and priorities of the country for the next fiscal year.

    In an effort to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the government plans to allocate Rs90 billion for the controversial Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP) specifically designed for parliamentarians. This proposed allocation is a significant increase from the revised estimates of Rs111 billion allocated in the outgoing financial year.

    Moreover, the government is currently working towards raising the allocation of the SDG Achievement Programme even further, aiming to reach Rs116 billion for the ongoing fiscal year. Notably, parliamentarians from Balochistan and Sindh provinces have primarily presented flood-related schemes under this program during the current fiscal year. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank (ADB) are also contributing $3 billion in loans for flood-related initiatives, highlighting the need to establish mechanisms that prevent overlap and ensure optimal utilization of funds.

    A substantial portion of the development schemes in Sindh and Balochistan, ranging from 50 to 60 per cent, focused on flood-related projects during the outgoing financial year. However, concerns have been raised about one political party, a significant ally of the ruling coalition, demanding that funds on behalf of their parliamentarians be channeled through the party’s political leader for distribution among its members.

    According to The News, the APCC, scheduled to meet today in the Ministry of Planning, will consider approving the macroeconomic framework, which includes a targeted real GDP growth rate of 3.5 per cent and a Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rate of 21 per cent for the budget of 2023-24. These figures are based on a working paper prepared by the Ministry of Planning and reflect the government’s economic outlook and goals for the upcoming fiscal year.

    The Ministry of Finance has provided an indicative budget ceiling of Rs700 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) in the next budget. However, the Minister for Planning, under the guidance of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, aspires to increase this amount to Rs800 billion. Additionally, a proposed allocation of Rs200 billion for the Viability Gap Fund (VGF) through public-private partnerships (PPP) would bring the total PSDP size to a proposed Rs1,000 billion at the federal level for the upcoming financial year.

    In an effort to address infrastructure needs, the share of the National Highway Authority (NHA) in the proposed PSDP is expected to decrease, ranging from Rs90 billion to Rs100 billion, due to the NHA’s inability to fully utilise the allocated funds in the ongoing financial year. The government is also considering allocations for flood mitigation and reconstruction efforts, as well as the inclusion of the Diamer Basha Dam project in the upcoming budget for 2023-24.

    As the APCC finalises its recommendations and the budgetary process unfolds, the government aims to strike a balance between addressing developmental needs, achieving SDGs, and ensuring efficient utilization of funds for the benefit of the nation.

  • Pakistan’s energy transition gets a boost with $240 million loan from Saudi Fund for Development

    Pakistan’s energy transition gets a boost with $240 million loan from Saudi Fund for Development

    On Friday, the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) signed a loan agreement worth $240 million to support Pakistan’s energy transition through the Mohmand Multipurpose Dam Project.

    The project, which is co-financed by the SFD, OPEC, the Islamic Development Bank, and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, is expected to contribute to Pakistan’s energy security, increase sustainable water supply for agriculture and human consumption, and improve resilience to floods.

    The agreement was signed by the SFD CEO, Mr Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, and the Federal Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dr Kazim Niaz. According to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the loan aims to promote sustainable development in Pakistan and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    The statement further highlighted that the Mohmand Multipurpose Dam Project will be of great assistance to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where almost 80 per cent of the population resides in rural areas. The project will enhance water and food security, improve the standard of living for people, and boost the region’s socioeconomic development by creating employment opportunities and reducing poverty levels.

    The project will also generate 800 MW of electricity production capacity by using renewable energy sources, contributing to Pakistan’s energy security. Additionally, the storage of 1.6 million meter cube of water will support sustainable agricultural practices, enable irrigation of 6,773 hectares of new land, and increase the total cropping area from 1,517 hectares to 9,227 hectares in the province, facilitating agricultural activities.

    During the agreement-signing ceremony, the SFD CEO emphasised the strong developmental ties between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and highlighted the significance of joint cooperation between development funds.