Federation's Strength Hinges On Its Units' Stability: Leghari
Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published January 11, 2023 | 12:00 AM
LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 10th Jan, 2023 ) :Provincial Finance Minister Sardar Mohsin Khan Leghari said on Tuesday that federating units' stability was necessary for strength of the federation and the NFC award (National Finance Commission) was a centrifugal agenda and the parliament should reconsider it.
He expressed these views as chief guest in a session of the training course of government officers organized by Punjab Management and Professional Development Department (PMPD).
Leghari said that incentives on increasing tax collections could improve the performance of provinces. Punjab had good potential in the agriculture sector and the implementation of a tax on agricultural lands could solve many issues, he observed. The governments alone were not responsible for breakdown in governance as the bureaucracy was also an equal contributor, he said and asserted that misuse of powers and deviation from rules of business was destroying institutions. The plight of government institutions could be improved by linking salary increases, allowances and promotions with performance.
The provincial minister cited that in 1960s, the children who had studied in public schools were turning out to be doctors, engineers and scientists. There was no mention of English medium private educational institutions at that time and today even the teachers of government schools were reluctant to send their children to public schools. "In the 60s, our canal system was world-renowned and today we are unable to distribute water fairly to our agricultural lands mainly because of our preferences," he continued.
"In the past, we focused on the quality of schools and courses instead of the number of schools, now we aim to increase the number of schools, but there is no mention of the quality of education. Earlier, education was a means of opening the mind, now only grades and rank are our goals. Water, which apart from drinking is our biggest need due to the agricultural importance of the province, does not appear far in our priorities," he regretted.
Leghari stressed that correct selection of priorities was essential for system optimization. He said that increase in the tax rate was due to individuals and organizations not paying the due taxes, adding that if businessmen and common people pay their due taxes honestly, the tax would not be a burden anymore.
Answering the participants' questions, the provincial minister said that the reform of government institutions was necessary. To improve the quality of education in schools and to ensure the attendance of doctors in hospitals, their annual increments, allowances and promotions should be linked with their performance, he said and added that as long as teachers who showed zero results but continued to get all the allowances, would not improve their performance. Merit had to be prioritized over the recommendations to improve governance and adherence to the rules of business would improve the efficiency of government institutions, he said. He urged the officers to help improve the system.
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