HARIPUR, July 8: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Dr Salman Shah has said that the government was using all available resources on projects aimed at socio-economic uplift of people. Unless the living standard of the people was not improved, the goal of real development and change would remain unachieved, he said while speaking at a public meeting in village Beer, some 32km from here, on Friday.

Minister of State for Finance Omer Ayub Khan and WB’s Country Director John Wall were present on the occasion.

Salman Shah said previous governments had focused on mega projects and neglected the common man, but the present government was giving priority to welfare-oriented plans for the marginalized communities.

Education, he said, played a pivotal role in human development and the government was taking steps to develop the human capital through enhanced input in education and skill development sectors.

The government believed that without human resource development, poverty could not be alleviated in the country, he added.

Therefore, the government had decided to increase funds allocated for community development projects like irrigation, sewerage, skill development, education and health to Rs20 billion in near future.

For the Khushhal Pakistan Programme, allocations for small villages would also be enhanced, he said.

He urged participants to follow the PM’s programme of one-village-one-product, increase their crop yields, and market them to not only at the national level but also internationally.

Omer Ayub Khan said that under the PM’s development programme, all villages would get the facilities of healthcare, electricity, potable water and education by year 2007.

He termed citizens community boards (CCB) the soul of local government system and tool to real empowerment of marginalized sections of society. The idea of boards had been devised to develop participatory approach, and put an end to common disputes arising out of development methodology at the UC level, he explained.

Country Director WB John Wall also addressed the meeting.

They also took a round of the Trust for Volunteers Organizations (TVO) and two newly-installed tube-well schemes at village Soha and Tahli in UC Beer, which were funded by the Hazara Advocacy and Development Foundation (HADAF).