PESHAWAR, April 1: Speakers at a research seminar here on Tuesday urged the need for building bridges between the government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and formulation of a policy for the government-NGO partnership so that they could effectively play their role in different fields, including health and education.

The seminar was organised by the NGO Resource Centre (a project of the Aga Khan Foundation) and the planning and development department, NWFP government.

Department secretary Saeed Pasha said the NWFP government encouraged participatory development and was committed to involve NGOs in the development of the province.

The participants of the seminar highlighted the problems faced by both sides while working on the public-private partnership projects.

The participants stressed the need to open up channels of communication and transparency.

Strengthening Participatory Organisation (SPO) regional director Arshad Haroon proposed that an institution of development ombudsman be set up to resolve conflicts between the NGOs and the government.

The participants also suggested that the government should publish a directory of government programme as done by the NGO Resource Centre.

The role of the NGOs was vital in development because without the participation of NGOs the government could not provide all the basic facilities to the people, they maintained.—APP