MULTAN:Additional Chief Secretary South Punjab, Capt (R) Saqib Zafar said that increasing the literacy rate and eradicating poverty was the prime agenda of the South Punjab Secretariat.
He expressed these views during a meeting with a two-member delegation comprising head of the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office, Shah Nasir Khan and Provincial Program Coordinator (UNRCO) Laila Rabab Jaskani who called on him at his office here Wednesday.
The United Nations program “Sustainable Development” in South Punjab came under discussion in the meeting.
The Additional Chief Secretary appreciated the initiative of involving various stakeholders of the society in the sustainable development dialogue and assured effective implementation on recommendations for sustainable development.
He said that South Punjab Secretariat was trying to increase the efficiency of government institutions.
The objective of capacity building of the national development departments was to spend all the funds on time and avoid budget lapses so that the development could be accelerated by making the best use of the funds available in the budget.
He said that the target to enhance enrollment of kids in government schools had been achieved successfully and the increase in literacy rate would end poverty.
Saqib said, concrete steps have been taken to increase the production of wheat, cotton and other agricultural commodities.
He said that agricultural development would bring prosperity to the rural population and uplift the standard of living of the people.
On this occasion, Shah Nasir Khan said that the objective of sustainable development dialogue was to provide a platform to the local population. He said that it was important to take local stakeholders on board to achieve the goals of sustainable development.
The United Nations wishes that representatives of all sectors, including intellectuals and the media, should be included in the dialogue, he stated and hoped that all stakeholders would identify key development priorities.