PESHAWAR: In the second workshop on KP’s governance reforms, the Official of the Planning and Development (P&D) Department told that Public Investment Management (PIM) related reforms are being implemented by the department for improved efficiency in identification, preparation and appraisal of capital projects.
According to a press release issued here on Thursday, the workshop was organized by the Government of KP with the support of World Bank to review improvements and way forward.
Syed Zahir Ali Shah, Director General PCNA, P&D Department said that all infrastructure facilities of the government including schools, water resources, hospitals etc. have been geo-tagged for monitoring and to inform future investment decisions of the government, especially focusing on economically viable and high economic return investments.
The panelists of the session on public financial management and PIM reforms informed that a dedicated PIM unit has been established in P&D Department to oversee the implementation of PIM Action Plan.
Shahid Khattak, Advisor PPP Unit, P&D Department said that Public Private Partnership (PPP) is one of the top government priority areas in the province.
He added that Swat Express Way (a Rs. 38 billion project) was built on PPP mode, and many other projects under PPP mode are being considered. He acknowledged the support of the Governance and Policy Project (GPP) in building capacity for the PPP unit by providing certificate-level training to more than 20 government officials.
Talking about Citizen Centric Governance reforms, Muhammad Salim Khan, Chief Commissioner, Right to Public Services (RTPS) Commission informed that with the efforts of RTS Commission, delay in receiving selected public services had dropped from 61% in 2014 to 3.4% in 2022.
The RTS Commission was established with the support of GPP. He added that RTPS Commission is playing important role of improving citizen-state trust, whereby it has established Citizen Integration Forums in all districts of KP province. Several government officials, local authorities and public representatives including Ministers have participated in the forum meeting.
RTPS Commission has brought together selected civil society representatives and district heads of all departments to discuss and resolve public services related issues.
Ms. Rakshanda Naz, Ombudsperson for the protection of women in workplace, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told the workshop participants that her office has established a pro-bono lawyers’ desk to support and guide working women about their legal rights and how to use the office of Women Ombudsperson for relevant assistance.
Similarly, on-line facilities have been provided to the women living in far-flung areas to appear before the Ombudsperson. Mr. Riaz Khan Daudzai, Commissioner, Right to Information (RTI) Commission said that people are provided E-RTI facility to get required information from the government departments online.
The GPP supported in the establishment of RTI camp offices in five divisional headquarters of KP to provide facilities to aggrieved person in the appeals.
RTI Commission also provided training to 20 journalists in Economic Journalism in IBA, Karachi, so that they can do better/improved reporting on Economy and Business in the province, said Daudzai.
Dr. Akif Khan, Deputy Coordinator, Performance Management Reforms Unit (PMRU) said that the citizens have online facility for directly launching complaints against certain department or public services to the Chief Minister’s office for timely action/redressal of grievance.
Zaeem Khan, Director HR & Welfare, Peshawar High Court, said that although high court is understaffed, but available staff are working hard to cope with the workload.
There is support system available for female staff. They have designed operational manual for judicial support, and local training program.
Mahmood Khan, Managing Director, KPITB said that several public services are being digitized and service centers are being established at divisional levels in KP.
KPITB is also developing one business portal to consolidate various departmental services APPs.
All these measures will improve service facilitation for citizens, he added.