LAHORE: The tax revenue in Punjab has registered a growth of over 46 percent following the incentives introduced by the provincial government.
This was stated by Punjab Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha, while addressing the seminar on “Enhancing State Capabilities in Punjab Province”, jointly organised by Consortium for Development Policy Research (CDPR), International Growth Centre (IGC) and Punjab Planning & Development Department, Lahore to explore ways the government could use academic research in public policy.
The finance minister said that achieving the growth strategy required greater investment of government resources, holding civil servants accountable to implement policies, ensure inclusive growth and design strategies with also stakeholders at the table.
She lauded the efforts of organisations such as CDPR, the International Growth Centre (IGC), the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS) and the Centre for Economic Research in Pakistan (CERP) in bringing cutting edge research to the attention of the policymakers.
Addressing on the occasion, P&D Punjab Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo noted that revenue generation and public-private partnerships were areas that the government was addressing at the moment. He also remarked that the seminar connected the dots between scholarship, public policy planning and implementation. Through these conversations, he concluded, the government of Punjab was determined to improve the lives of its citizens.
CDPR Chairman and Advisor to Chief Minister on Economic Affairs Dr Ijaz Nabi, in his address, gave the final words by stressing the need to equip government officials with good quality evidence to make them feel empowered on policy issues. He said that policymaking was moving in the right direction as the government has shown a renewed interest in collaborating with researchers.
The event included presentations by researchers on a variety of subjects about Punjab’s public sector.
