ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s provincial governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have saved billions of rupees and unlocked significant new resources for development under a landmark British-backed governance program that concluded this year, the British High Commission said on Wednesday.
The UK’s Sub-National Governance Program, which ran from 2019 to 2025, worked with provincial authorities to improve planning, budgeting and revenue mobilization.
According to the High Commission, the program unlocked over £1.9 billion ($2.41 billion) in public finance, allowing savings to be reinvested into other public services.
In Punjab, a comprehensive pensions reform plan was introduced, shifting to a contributory scheme with both employer and employee payments, expected to save the government of Punjab Rs 2.7 trillion. ($9.72 billion) over the next 30 years. In KP, the program supported an overhaul of waste management systems, introducing sustainable door-to-door collection now being scaled up across the province.
“This program shows what is possible when strong partnerships come together to support long-term reform, changing people’s lives,” British High Commission Development Director Sam Waldock said.
