KARACHI – The Sindh government has established a new cell to take over the responsibilities of the public-private partnership unit being run by the Finance Department after failing to ensure that development schemes are properly implemented
The main objective of establishing the new cell is to achieve the goals, which the government had set, sources told Pakistan Today.
A few months ago, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah had directed the additional chief secretary (Development) to initiate the take-over process of the public-private partnership unit for ensuring that the goals set by the present government were achieved.
The unit was set up last year to attract investment and launch priority programmes of the government in different sectors including water supply, drinking water, Thar coal, primary education, and health with a budget of over Rs 5.37 billion.
Moreover, Rs 1 billion were allocated for the provision of natural gas to villages and town of the province, billions of rupees for Sindh Development Fund and huge funds for the Sindh Indigenous and Traditional Crafts Company.
However, after seeing the public-private partnership unit’s performance in the province, it was decided that the unit be transferred to the Planning and Development (P&D) Department with the establishment of a separate cell
Now, the P&D department has established the cell headed by a 20-grade director general and abolished the Tameer-e-Pakistan Programme section of the department, which was responsible for starting schemes recommended by MPAs and could not properly carry out development works in constituencies of the elected representatives.
The new cell is expected to ensure proper utilisation of the MPAs’ funds that have been increased from Rs 1 million to Rs 60 million.
