PESHAWAR : Reforms body seeks grouping of federal institutions
By Mohammad Ali Khan
PESHAWAR, Sept 14: The National Commission for Government Reform (NCGR) has proposed the regrouping of 20-odd federal government training and policy research institutions into eight clusters, according to officials.
The NCGR — a consultative body headed by Dr Ishrat Hussain, a former governor of the State Bank — carried out a survey to unearth the weaknesses in the operations of some 24 training institutions, working under various ministries, and proposed recommendations for their overhaul.
The body claimed that a majority of the officials working for the federal government, who did not belong to any cadre or service structure, received no systematic training for upgrading their technical and professional skills. This impacted adversely on the operations of development projects.
Officials said the NCGR, following consultation with stakeholders, proposed the re-grouping of existing training and research institutes into eight main clusters.
Each cluster institute, they said, would be an autonomous body governed by an independent board of directors and a chief executive reporting to the board.
As per the NCGR proposal, the National School of Public Policy (NSPP) with its constituent colleges, institutes and centres will serve as the apex organisation for delivering managerial and leadership training to the officers.
The Institution of Fiscal Policy and Financial Management (IFPFM) is another proposed body that will cater to the specialised needs of the fiscal and financial managers of the federal government at all levels and carry out research in fiscal policy, domestic resource mobilisation, taxation, audit and accounting issues.
The existing Audit and Accounts Academy, Income Tax Academy and Customs and Excise Academy will become training arms with expanded responsibility for policy research in their respective areas.
The NCGR has also proposed the setting up of an Energy Policy Institute (EPI), that will be responsible for technical training and policy research needs of the ministries of water and power, petroleum and natural resources, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and other organisations working under these ministries.
Similarly, like the EPI, the Infrastructure Policy Institute (IPI) will meet specialised training needs of the ministries of railways, water and power, communications, ports and shipping and civil aviation and the infrastructure project facility.
The Human Development Policy Institute (HDPI) is another proposed institute that will serve the ministries of education, health, labour and population, whereas, the proposed Industrial and Trade Policy Institute (ITPI) will serve the ministries of industries and production, commerce and textile.
Moreover, the proposed Agriculture and Environment Policy Institute (AEPI) will serve the ministries of food and agriculture, environment, local government and rural development. All the existing relevant training institutes will become part of it.
The National Police Academy (NPA), as per the NCGR proposal, will continue to function in its present form under its board of governors. However, it will have to develop the capacity for policy research that can be of aid to the interior division and law enforcement agencies.
According to the officials, in addition to these eight major training and policy research institutions, the NCGR has proposed the retaining of the Foreign Service Academy, Pakistan Planning and Management Institute and Information Service Academy as attached departments of the ministries concerned.
