Tajikistan – Joint IDA-IMF staff advisory note and the poverty reduction strategy for 2010-2012
The Government of the Republic of Tajikistan in February 2010 formally approved its Third Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS 3) for 2010-2012. Building on the first PRS for 2002-05 and the second PRS for 2007-09, the PRS 3 operationalizes the country’s long-term development vision laid out in the National Development Strategy (NDS) for 2006-2015.
The overarching PRS 3 objective is to promote sustainable strong economic growth and improvements in the living standards of the population, especially of vulnerable groups. The PRS 3 is organized around three blocks:
(a) a functional block, covering public administration reform, macroeconomics, investment climate, private sector, regional cooperation and global economic integration;
(b) a production block, covering food security, agriculture, infrastructure, energy and industry;
(c) a social block, covering health, education, water and sanitation, housing, and social welfare.
The PRS 3 also recognizes several cross-sectoral issues, including institutional reforms, demographic change, environmental management, and gender equality.
The PRS 3 addresses the key recommendations of the Joint Staff Advisory Note of the second PRS, dated November 6, 2007:
- First, it describes the measures being taken to accelerate structural reforms, including securing property rights and enhancing the business environment.
- Second, it discusses actions to improve governance and public sector management, especially through reform of the public administration and pay system, although it would benefit from a more detailed discussion of the steps being taken to reduce corruption.
- Third, the PRS 3 presents a process for costing and prioritizing programs, although more work is required to identify funding for PRS 3 priorities.
- Finally, it presents a strategy to strengthen poverty analysis and monitoring.