Planning for a brighter future

The current exercise by the federal government to formulate a five-year plan is seen by many as somewhat misplaced in view of the expected three-year top-priority International Monetary Fund (IMF) stabilisation programme. In the past, as well, the 23 bailouts by the Fund and its reforms agenda took precedence over implementations of five-year plans; to quote an analyst, “Much of the five-year plans… are paperwork exercises.” One may also note that centralised planning also suffers from many deficiencies in terms of formulation and execution, including erratic and unsustainable modes of financing and the absence of clearly defined federal domains that duplicate provincial functions and cannot be funded by a cash-strapped centre.