Maravi

‘FNDP was a success’

COMMENT - A success for whom?

‘FNDP was a success’
By Joseph Mwenda and Mutale Kapekele
Tue 08 Feb. 2011, 04:01 CAT

WORLD Bank Zambia country manager Dr Kapil Kapoor says the Fifth National Development Plan was a success as evidenced by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which he said was higher than estimated.

And the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) says the success of the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) will be dependent on sufficient domestic resources and political will.

In an interview following the launch of the SNDP, Dr Kapoor said it was important for the government and the private sector to coordinate their efforts in ensuring that the SNDP was implemented.

“I do not agree that the FNDP failed. I do not think so. I think the plan actually worked well. As the finance minister said, I think Zambia’s economic performance during the Fifth National Development Plan has actually been quite good. The economy has grown by about six per cent every year,” Dr Kapoor said.

“I think the challenge going ahead is making sure that the SNDP plan is actually implemented. I think the challenge also is to try and increase growth to about seven per cent every year and make sure that the people of Zambia benefit in that growth.”

And CSPR executive director Patrick Mucheleka warned that the SNDP would not achieve its goals and aspirations unless the government strengthened its implementing departments and systems.

Mucheleka said the success of the SNDP was dependant on sufficient domestic resources and political will.

“There was a lot of misappropriation of funds as well as irregularities in the systems and structures during the implementation period of the FNDP,” Mucheleka said. “The weakness in the FNDP was inadequate funding to key sectors of the implementation process.”

Mucheleka said unless implementing institutions were strengthened, the country would not be able to achieve the goals and aspirations of the SNDP.

He said although the FNDP was a good plan on paper, it was disappointing that its programs failed to reduce poverty which now stands at 64 per cent.

Mucheleka said for the SNDP to succeed, it should ‘talk’ to the budget expenditure framework and the vision 2030.

The government says the focus of the SNDP, whose theme is ‘Sustained Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction’, would be on deliberate interventions that would promote the creation of decent jobs and skills development particularly for young people.

Labels: CSPR, FNDP, KAPIL KAPOOR, World Bank

posted by MrK @ 5:59 AM