NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) government "firmly believes" in using the resources for the benefit of the people. Inaugurating the desilting campaign in the province on Friday, Durrani accused the previous governments of misusing the public exchequer to win the loyalty of the members of provincial assembly.
But his government was committed to make the resource distribution mechanism transparent, he said, and criticised those, who had launched the "save Peshawar" campaign. Durrani asked them to compare what the MMA government did in its shorter span of rule for Peshawar with the previous 57-year misrule.
He asked the concerned authorities to make the desilting campaign a success, which required absolute honesty and commitment to the mission. He reminded them that if they lacked the required requisites, the campaign would become a failure and the resources would go down the drain.
Durrani said that agriculture was the backbone of our economy as 75 percent of the total population was directly linked with agriculture.
It was unfortunate that the Frontier had received less or no attention to develop agriculture and irrigation sectors, he said.
Though the Frontier province was replete with God gifted advantages, "We lacked the approach for flawless planning to ensure scientific utilisation of our surface water resources. "We have prioritised the efficient utilisation of our surface water resources and have identified spots where water reservoirs can be constructed," he said.
The Chief Minister said that his government had undertaken preliminary plans and if the Federal government wanted to construct dams and reduce dependence of the provinces on each other, then there was no other option but to provide resources to the Frontier province and make it prosperous.
He thanked former Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali for agreeing to his suggestion during a meeting to raise the net hydle profit from six billion rupees to eight billion.
The former Prime Minister, he said, had also approved arbitration for clearing the outstanding dues that Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) owed to the Frontier.
He hoped that the visit of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, due in the coming month, would bring fresh breathings to the people of Frontier province, who was not only expected to unfold a developmental package for the Frontier province, but would also implement the promises made with the people by the President during the referendum and the former Prime Minister during his visit to the Frontier province.
He was optimistic that the big projects in the irrigation sector would lead the province towards self-sufficiency in food products.
He said that if the funds were made available for the plans approved, then there was no room for any laxity. He also made clear that if there were any fault by any one, hindering the efficient utilisation of funds, the government would take action and bring the official to book.
He referred to the national drainage programme where the construction work was slow, and asked the officials to remove weaknesses and obstacles in the system and escalate the developmental process. He took strong exception to the growing trend of transfers and postings by the officials to places having attraction. "We wanted to stop this trend because such officials are always out to play ducks with the public money."
He reaffirmed his commitment to make no compromise on provincial rights, and directed the officials to dispose of the debris and mud brought out in the desilting campaign. He also criticised the previous rulers for doing everything to safeguard their fragile governments, and added that his government had put a seal on all the malpractice's that were rampant in the past.