(Islamabad) Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday
said the government was introducing a new system of ‘reward and punishment’
under which civil servants would not be transferred but sacked if found
involved in corruption and irregularities. ‘We will not transfer a corrupt
bureaucrat but will sack him;’ the prime minister said while addressing a
ceremony held on completion of two years of Pakistan Citizen Portal at the
Prime Minister House. The event was attended by federal ministers; bureaucrats;
senior officers and media representatives. The prime minister expressed
dissatisfaction over the performance of the current local governments and said
a system was being introduced at the village level under which funds would be
transferred directly to the councils. ‘A new local government system is being
introduced which will usher in a revolution. It will be implemented at the
village level where people will be able to elect their representatives who will
directly receive funds every year;’ he added. ‘It would be the best way to
solve municipal problems {at the} local government level; like pollution, waste
management and sewerage system. Across the world; these issues are resolved by
the local governments;’ he told the participants of the ceremony. In major
cities like Karachi and Lahore, elections will be held and a city government
will be set up that will solve problems of residents; including water;
sanitation and waste management. Prime Minister Khan lauded Pakistan Citizen
Portal for entertaining three million complaints in two years, urging people to
use the forum for their empowerment as well as to hold officers accountable. ‘I
want more people to use it {citizen portal}. We will further strengthen the
portal as it is the best method for citizens to register complaints. As a prime
minister; it is also easy for me to know which minister or department is
working well and which bureaucrat is performing poorly;’ he added. Since its
launch on Oct 28, 2018; around three million people registered themselves on
the portal and reported 2.7m complaints; out of which 2.5m were resolved. PM
Khan said the portal would also keep the government aware of the performance of
ministries and departments. He said it would make it easier to enforce carrot and
stick policy and take decisions on promotions; incentives and even sacking of
the bureaucrat as the new civil service rules provided for terminating services
of the corrupt or bad performing officers. Appreciating the performance of
Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit in charge Adil Safi and his team; Mr. Khan said
the portal would change public mindset as well as their empowerment. He said
Madina state gave the very concept of people’s empowerment and public service. The
prime minister said that contrary to the colonial system or monarchy; the
democratic system gave a voice to the masses and made governments answerable.
The citizen portal is also a journey towards the very direction of making
people know their rights; he added. Commenting on the statistical analysis, the
prime minister said the highest number of complaints relating to municipal
issues showed that the local government system was not working properly. He;
however; said the new system would revolutionise the area, making people
directly elect their representatives who would also control the funds. ‘This
will be the best way to address their municipal issues;’ he added. Metropolitan
cities like Lahore and Karachi would have their own governments and revenue
generation as well as independent systems for municipal services. The prime
minister was pleased at overseas Pakistanis benefiting from the forum;
particularly with regard to the illegal occupation of their properties by land
mafia. He encouraged people; particularly in Punjab and Sindh, to report
complaints against police officials or assistant commissioners who demanded
bribe; assuring them that the government would hold such officers accountable.
Education portal
In a separate
meeting, Prime Minister Khan said a radio school and an education portal had
been launched to facilitate students through distance learning system. Trained
and qualified teachers would be hired for the portal, called E-Taleem; to make
distance learning effective; he said; adding that the government had already
promised to introduce ‘Single National Curriculum’ as it would help Pakistanis
band together as a nation. ‘It is a great achievement of ours to introduce a
uniform curriculum;’ he added.
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