Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary for adopting austerity measures

Peshawar, January 05, 2014 (PPI-OT): The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Muhammad Shehzad Arbab has strictly directed all the administrative secretaries to adopt austerity measures in their respective departments and also to ensure proper and quick implementation of the reforms agenda of the present government for the larger interests of the general public and categorically stated that no compromise would be accepted in the improvement of the overall efficiency of the government departments.

He was chairing a high level meeting at the cabinet room of civil secretariat, Peshawar on Friday. All the administrative secretaries and other concerned officers attended the meeting. The chief secretary stated that the secretaries were the overall incharges of their respective departments and efforts should be accelerated to come up to the expectations of the general masses and to bring constructive changes according to the well of the present government.

The CS regretted that response from majority of the departments in the implementation process of different measures of the provincial government was slow and he wanted to expedite it at all costs.

He said the provincial government was very serious in adopting austerity measures and in this regard he wanted to take cuts in some of the sectors side by side with revising the less important factors so that saving could be made in the provincial exchequer.

The Chief Secretary further regretted that office timings were not followed and directed the heads of all the nation-building departments to ensure timely presence of government employees and also timely implementation of the official initiatives in a bid to avoid the practice of reminders against any official matter forthwith.

The chief secretary was briefed in detail on the sectors where cuts in the expenses during the fiscal year 2013-14 could be taken. He was told that a 10-member committee headed by the ministers for finance, information and others had been constituted which would revise the non-governmental expenditures and would recommend proper proposals for cuts to reduce the expenses.

The same committee will also appoint sub-committees for assigning the task in this regard. The chief secretary admitted that though terrorism was a big challenge for the government but urged the secretaries to utilize their services for improving the system with fully coordinating each other and playing their active role in the reforms implementation process ensuring the desired change.

The meeting also discussed the visits of various secretaries to the different districts and progress report in this regard was reviewed. The chief secretary directed for proper follow up in the policy measures. Problems faced by different departments in the implementation of the reforms agenda also came under discussion and decisions taken in this regard. The CS also appreciated performance of some of the departments.

For more information, contact:
Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Tel: 091 921 1789
Email: info@khyberpakhtunkhwa.gov.pk