PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak has disagreed with the notion that his government had set hard and unachievable targets for transparent and corruption free governance, adding that he believed in result oriented governance in the province.
He was highly appreciative of the valuable contributions the outgoing Chief Secretary (CS) Abid Saeed made, to enable smooth, transparent and good governance in KP.
The CM was addressing a dinner hosted in honour of the outgoing CS at the Peshawar officers mess. Provincial ministers and administrative secretaries also attended the dinner.
Khattak said that it was a total misconception to declare that the government’s targets were hard and unachievable, adding that prosperity and development came through the right kind of system. He had spent all his life in the service of people. He has witnessed hardships of the hapless people, and it was his mission to leave behind a legacy of good and transparent governance, free of corruption and irregularities.
He said that when he took over the system, it was “inefficient”. The public sector institutions were in total disarray, therefore, he took upon himself to give a system where the institutions had the dynamism and efficiency to deliver while the politicians watch it from above, he added.
The CM also said that “every individual in the governance structure had different responsibilities but the goal was to ensure good governance and mitigate the grievances of the people”. He called upon the bureaucracy to utilise their expertise gained during their career for the benefit of the people.
He reminded that the nations, which are at the forward lines of development, had a strong and stable system of governance enabling their development and prosperity.
The CM was also optimistic that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would stage a comeback to power on the basis of its delivery.
The outgoing CS also shared his experiences with the audience and termed his tenure in KP as the most prolific. He said that it was a good experience and he was supported by the bureaucracy and he gave honest advices on professional lines.
He appreciated the vision of the KP government, visible from the projects such as ‘Billion Tree Tsunami’, reforms for depoliticising institutions, corruption free KP, police reforms and infrastructure development.
The CS was also appreciative of the brilliant performance of bureaucracy in the KP terming the officers of the province ‘better than the rest’.
The CM also afforded gifts and shields to the outgoing bureaucrat.
At another event, while talking to a Chinese consulting company at Peshawar CM House, Khattak said that his government focused on investment facilitation in the diversified advantages of the province. “KP offers tremendous potential and avenues for investment, but unfortunately no one explores and exploits its advantages thus affecting the prosperity and development of the province,” he added.
At the event, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC), for the identification and implementation of rail communications projects in KP.
The CM said that his government was making agreements with both domestic and foreign investors and hopefully the province would have a better and prosperous future.
He also talked about the Economic Zone and Development Management Committee (EZDMC), an independent body for investment facilitation in KP.
