PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed a bill to set up a board to promote, encourage, assist and facilitate investment and trade in the province.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade Bill, 2015, was tabled by law minister Imtiaz Shahid.

The board will also facilitate coordination among the federal and provincial government departments and other strategic stakeholders, both from public and private sectors, for investment-friendly policy reforms and sustainable economic growth in the province.

According to the law, the investment board will consist of public and private sectors members totaling from 15 to 20, including the chairman.


Opposition criticises govt for closing down Maktab Schools


The public sector members will including additional chief secretary planning and development department, secretaries of finance and industries departments, and managing director Bank of Khyber.

The chief minister will be the chairman of the board, while the vice chairman will be appointed by government both from public or private sector on such terms and conditions determined by the government for an non-extendible period of three years.

The private sector members will include persons of renowned integrity, expertise, experiences and knowledge including inter alia, academia, sciences, agriculture, banking business, commerce, economic, engineering, finance, industry, investment, law, marketing, mathematics, statistics and technology.

Under the law, the board is responsible to undertake sub-sectors studies and develop concepts, briefs and fact sheets both internally in consultation with government department and through outsourcing to consultants on different priority sectors of the province economy that have the potential for growth and employment generation and share the same with private and institutional investors including multilateral and bilateral donors.

The investment board may constitute committees to assist it in the performance of its functions. Such committees will consist of such persons as the board may deem fit, the law states.

On the commencement of ‘The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade Act, 2015, the existing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade, Board constituted under executive order in October 2013 would dissolve.

Earlier, the house was informed in the question hour that the elementary and secondary education department has spent Rs7.74 million on advertisements appeared in the newspapers about the allocation of Rs9.86 billion for missing facilities at government schools.

“For the first time in history, the provincial government has allocated such a huge amount (Rs9.86 billion) for provision of facilities to schools,” education minister Mohammad Atif Khan said.

He said his department would ensure construction of boundary walls, additional classrooms and lavatories, supply of drinking water and electrification would be ensured in the government schools.

“The money is being spent through parent-teacher councils set up at government schools,” he said.

On a point of order, Sardar Hussain Babak of ANP asked why such a huge amount of money was spent on the PTI’s promotion.

Showing the copies of advertisements to colleagues, he said the adverts had no message for the public regarding the fund and instead, they publicised the ruling PTI.

Also, the opposition members criticised the education department for closing down a large number of Maktab Schools, single teacher-educational institutions established in mosques.

They said the closure of such schools would deprive scores of children of modern education.

Responding to queries, education minister Mohammad Atif Khan said the government had planned to replace Maktab Schools with the regular primary schools.

“Only the Maktab Schools with no or few students have been closed. We are not closing down such schools in areas, where there are students but no government school is available to them,” he said.

Speaker Asad Qaissr deferred The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Sensor of Motion Pictures (Films, CDs, Videos, Stage Dramas and Shows) Bill, 2015.

Published in Dawn, December 1st, 2015

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