LAHORE: Those talking about winning over Punjab in the next elections should first clean the Karachi roads that have turned into heaps of garbage, switch on lights of the “city of lights” and return $60 million stashed away in the Swiss banks, said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif here on Monday.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony of the Emergency Services Academy (Rescue 1122) here near Thokar Niaz Beg on Monday, he made a jibe at the former president Asif Ali Zardari for “politically conquering” Punjab.

It was time to stop the blame game and start serving the masses instead, he said.

“Baseless allegations should not be leveled as it is painful. We have to follow the path of hard work and honesty for serving the ailing humanity. The corrupt should be held accountable strictly so that no one can loot the nation’s resources in future. The dishonest should be held accountable so that no one dares to loot the resources of poor nation in future,” he said.

Opens Emergency Services Academy

The CM watched training being given to rescuers at the academy set up at cost of Rs908 million and said it would bring the emergency services on a par with international standards during natural catastrophe. He said the rescuers after training at the academy would help out the people affected by earthquakes or floods with dedication.

He also lashed out at “the rulers of Punjab” under Musharraf regime who, he said, imported expensive tiles from India for the construction of Services Hospital instead of recruiting professionally qualified doctors, nurses and the staff.

“If you visit Service Hospital you will witness brown marble that had been imported from India. When our government took over in 2008, we tried to stop the import of tiles from India as we believed that highly qualified doctors, paramedical staff and modern machinery is the real requirement of a hospital instead of marble tiles.

He said these rulers also committed dacoity by awarding contract of iron ore reserves in Chiniot in 2007 without tendering process to a fraud company which was cancelled by high court “on our request.” He alleged that the contract was given to a person who was closed to the then rulers.

He praised the then chief justice of the Lahore High Court, Khwaja Sharif and the sitting Chief Justice Mansoor Ali Shah who gave decision against the contract.

“The experts from China and Germany now say that much more wealth is hidden under (our) land and we can earn billions of rupees by selling this iron ore,” he claimed.

He also inspected passing out parade and distributed shields among the rescuers for their outstanding performance during the course.

LG FUNDING: The Punjab government has already increased local bodies’ funds from Rs17 billion to Rs43 billion and has so far diverted over Rs53 billion to these institutions, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif told a local bodies leadership convention.

“The Punjab would constitute a committee, headed by me (CM) to decide on more powers for the local bodies and they would certainly get more powers. But these powers would be accompanied by a strict system of accountability,” he told his audience, which included mayors, deputy mayors and other elected representatives.

He said local bodies would have to act as development arm of the provincial government.

Listing his government’s development initiatives, he said for the first time Rs90 billion were being spent on the road infrastructure in Punjab, while another Rs12 billion were being spent on providing electricity to far-flung areas.

In this connection he also mentioned a Rs11 billion grant for students’ scholarship and gifts, besides Metro Bus service in three cities of the province.

He said clean water projects would cost another Rs30 billion, while an elaborate plan of upgrading hospitals was being run.

Other leaders also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2017