Sindh government has announced to restructure the existing Planning and Development Department and evolved into the Planning and Development Board. Headed by a Chairman, the board will assist the government in broad policy decisions and will help implement development schemes.
Presenting the budget proposal for next fiscal year, Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah informed that Chief Minister’s Secretariat has adapted stern austerity measures. The revised estimates for Chief Minister’s Secretariat are pitched at Rs 750 million against an allocation Rs 2.1 billion. For next financial year, an allocation of Rs 521 million has been made, he added.
“We intend to scrutinize budgets of all departments and control expenditure through austerity measures. Therefore all the government institutions have been urged to place controls over excessive and useless expenditure”, he said.
Under the Sindh Public Sector Reform Project, the province has established an Internal Audit wing in the Finance Department. The wing will be replicated in all other departments. It will help departments accomplish their objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.
It has also decided to strengthen the Public Accounts Committee, which is the highest provincial forum dealing with matters related to post audit.
Shah said that another important achievement of Sindh Public Sector Reform Project is the creation of Rs 28 millions ADP Monitoring Dashboard. It is designed to capture real time progress of each development scheme with evidence. From next financial year, all major schemes will be monitored through this interactive dashboard. This will enhance efficiency whilst ensuring quality control, he added.
“We realize that there is lack of understanding of the complexities of procurement law. Hence, a comprehensive training module has been developed. From next financial year, it will be mandatory for procurement officer to have acquired training”, he mentioned.
