NWFP Structural Adjustment Credit

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The North West Frontier Province Structural Adjustment Credit Project, supports the economic, and social reform program of the Province, and builds on four pillars: 1) strengthening provincial governance through civil service reform, to strengthen accountability, integrity, and institutional framework; 2) strengthening public health, and education delivery systems, including devolution of responsibilities to expand access to these services, with a focus on primary service delivery; 3) fiscal, and financial management reforms, to increase provincial revenues, reprioritize expenditures, strengthen procurement, and improve budget preparation and implementation; and, 4) deregulation, and business facilitations to enhance prospects for growth, and poverty alleviation. However, major risks are failure to continue the political commitment to the reform process in the Province in light of the October 2002 forthcoming elections; setbacks in the implementation of the Government's reform agenda; and, external shocks arising from a downturn in the economy, including tensions along Pakistani borders. Nonetheless, the Bank's support program is self-adjusting to mitigate the risk of reform derailment.