During the first six months of the current fiscal year Rs 13,392 million was released for development projects out of which only Rs 4,896 million could be spent on a few ongoing projects initiated during the last financial year.
Sindh Minister for Planning and Development Shoaib Bukhari at a meeting of his staff and secretaries of different department on Tuesday took serious note of the poor utilisation of funds and admonished. He issued instruction to complete the projects in time. He said that merely asking for funds without showing performance has become a fashion with those who were heading different departments.
He did not agree with the additional chief secretary planning and development Sarwar Khehro (serving Sindh Government on contract after retirement) that there was shortage of staff to complete development projects and said that in the age of technology less pen and paper was needed to do preparatory work. The minister directed the additional chief secretary to streamline his office and ensure progress.
He said that employment of staff on contract basis was under consideration and would be finalised soon. But, till such action was taken, there should be progress and the output should not restrict to the number of staff. "I am not prepared to accept excuses on any pretext. People should not suffer because of the inefficiency of the officers," he added.
He said he was contemplating a system that would make it possible for the parliamentarians to put direct questions to concerned secretary for their defaults. "In the future I would develop a system where members of the assembly would be able to directly ask the concerned secretary for their failure to take up or complete a development project."
Bukhari expressed his complete dissatisfaction over the performance of P&D. Earlier, Business Recorder on January 20 has published a report about the failure of different departments who do not submit development work implementation status report.
The delay in submission of these reports has caused suspension of release of funds. Usually the donors or foreign financial agency release matching funds on the basis of implementation status of projects and submission of account of money spent. In the Sindh government most of the officers do not abide by these instructions and cause damage to development projects.
Officers committed to their work say that audit of development funds is irregular. "If it is taken seriously, many officers will not be able to explain the financial mismanagement."
Among the secretaries of different departments Additional Chief Secretary of Planning and Development Ghulam Sarwar Khehro and Director General Monitoring and Evaluation P&D Khair Mohammed Bhutto also attended the meeting.
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