Chief Minister Balochistan Dr Abdul Malik has said that poverty is a world-wide issue but its impacts are more complicated and hard in Balochistan. We are constantly struggling to decentralise the powers to local bodies that would help to reduce poverty, he added.
He stated this while addressing a conference on Community Drive Development organised by Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) in collaboration with European Union and Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN) at a local hotel here on Wednesday. He said that coalition government is striving hard to eradicate poverty with less resources, however the way we are trying to steer out from the poverty is very complicated.
Balocistan has a vast area and needs support and focus of European Union and other international community in helping the province to get rid of the poverty, he said. Advisor to Chief Minister Balochistan on Education Sardar Raza Muhammad Barech, MPA Rahela Durrani and representative of ILO also spoke on the occasion.
A large number of people, including male and female hailing from various walks of life attended the conference. Chief minister said that our forefathers, including Mir Ghous Bakhsh Bezinjo and Khan Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai struggled against one unit similarly we strived for 18th Constitutional Amendment. We have gained provincial autonomy from Islamabad and now trying to decentralise power to local bodies, he said, adding that we have decentralised powers in health and educations sectors, he added.
He said that it is the policy of our party and government that the powers should be decentralised at local bodies because through this a change could come, thus the coalition government increased funds of local bodies from one percent to ten percent. We have only Rs 40 billion for development of Balochistan which is insufficient, he added. He said that if through Rs 17 billion and through the proposals of this conference the poverty would be eliminated then it would not be a big deal. Strongly rejecting the notion that no development has achieved in education sector, he said that they do not make claims but the things had improved a lot in Education department.
Masses enjoy the real power, we should work hard and defeat poverty, and our friends and members of local bodies can play a crucial role in this connection, he added. He directed and nominated MPA Rahila Durrani as focal person to get the proposals of the NGOs and workout for their implementation. Earlier, RSPN Chairman Shoaib Sultan Khan presented a briefing on Chief Ministers Poverty Reduction Programme.