The Seventh Development Plan: A Two-Sided Orphan
TEHRAN (Iran News) Even the excuse that the government lacks sufficient funds to carry out major projects under this plan cannot justify inaction. To achieve the plan’s objectives, tens of billions of dollars in foreign investment are required annually, while under the best of circumstances, Iran attracts only a fraction of that amount. Statistics indicate that investment in the country has not only failed to grow but has sharply declined—by as much as 60 percent.
The plan’s target of 8 percent economic growth is being set at a time when Iran’s economic growth in recent years has largely been around or below zero. The government believes that reducing inflation from above 50 percent to below 10 percent within five years appears highly optimistic given current conditions. Its critique is that the goal of creating one million jobs per year—a goal that was not met even in previous plans—is inconsistent with the current structure of Iran’s economy.
The tax system and extensive exemptions prevent the government’s projected revenues from materializing. Any reform in the subsidy system, pension funds, or monopolies faces strong resistance from vested interest groups.
According to parliamentary reports, only 18 to 25 percent of the targets set in the Third through Sixth Development Plans were actually achieved. This record reveals a structural flaw in the very nature of planning that leads to chronic non-implementation.
The Pezeshkian administration itself has submitted a report to Parliament identifying 147 provisions of the current plan—including key goals related to growth and employment—as “infeasible.”
Given these circumstances, one can say that the Seventh Development Plan is a two-sided orphan—with neither an executor determined to implement it nor a capable overseer to demand accountability from the government or propose solutions to bridge the gap between the plan’s goals and the government’s capacities.
- author : Hamid Reza Naghashian
- source : IRAN NEWS
