PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has planned to monitor media reports to promptly address the highlighted deficiencies of its departments and thus, ensuring good governance.

According to information secretary Abid Majeed, his department has begun work on the establishment of a modern media cell to publicise the government’s policies through media and provide necessary information on them to journalists.

“The cell will have centralised media room for the live media coverage of news conferences and monitoring of positive and negatives media reports and programmes about the provincial government,” he told a meeting here on Thursday.

The meeting presided over by information minister Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani reviewed the overall performance of the department.

Information sec says modern media cell being set up to publicise govt policies

The minister expressed satisfaction with the department’s performance and praised the information secretary for striving to make the department more effective and publicising the government’s initiative through media.

The secretary informed the meeting that three FM radio stations were set up each in Abbottabad, Swat and Kohat districts for public awareness, while more FM stations would be established in other districts with a view to highlight the government’s policies and measures for public welfare of the province. He said the establishment of a modern media cell was in final stages.

Abid Majeed said the information department had financially supported 80 deserving journalists from the Journalist Endowment Fund during the current year.He said the beneficiaries of the fund belonged to different districts of the province.

The secretary informed the minister about the department’s yearly performance and its financial and technical issues.

Ghani said the government was taking quick measures to improve the performance of all government departments.

He said the department’s all issues, whether financial or technical, would be resolved on priority basis.

The minister said the government had successfully implemented its reforms agenda and ensured transparency and merit in the affairs of its departments. “Such measures need to be highlighted through media for public awareness,” he said.

Information director Shoaibuddin and other officials of the department also attended the meeting.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2015

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