PESHAWAR, Jan 30: NWFP Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani has said his government will cut down non-developmental expenditures, streamline financial discipline and improve the law and order situation to attract the foreign investment in the province.
Talking to State Bank governor Dr Ishrat Hussain, who called on him at the Frontier’s House on Thursday, Mr Durrani said there had been a certain background of the backwardness of Frontier and Balochistan. Both the provinces had unlimited resources, but these could not be utilized for the development purposes, he added. The head of Khyber Bank and other bankers were also present at the occasion.
Mr Durrani said the MMA government had the political sagacity and wanted the logical and beneficial completion of the developmental strategy. The anti-government elements underestimated the prudence of the MMA government, he added.
He said his government had introduced the concept of mutual understanding. The present government, which had been voted to power by the middle class, would work out its strategy in consonance with the people’s aspirations, he added.
The MMA government had started de-centralising of health, education, drinking water, irrigation and communication sectors up to the district level, he added.
He referred to the existing mechanism for the payment of electricity bills in tribal areas. He said certain items of daily use are taxed in tribal areas in this regard. This is a wrong mechanism and should be done away with because it puts extra burden on the poor.
He said gas and oil reservoirs had been discovered in southern districts, which the present government wanted to exploit. His government was also planning to exploit water, mineral and other resources in an organized manner for the development of the province, he added.
He said the work on the Malakand-III project has been started which would produce 81 MW hydel power and would irrigate 20,000 acres of land. He said we wanted to involve private sector entrepreneurs in the exploitation of these natural resources.
His government, he said, was striving hard to improve law and order situation and provide safety to the investors.
“The ministers of our government were reluctant to take new cars. We have put a brake to the unnecessary spending on visits of the government functionaries”, he added.
The SBP governor appreciated the steps taken by the NWFP government. If NWFP government decided to launch Islamic Banking, then the State Bank would facilitate the opening up of new branches of Khyber Bank and even if the Khyber Bank results and efficiency were up to the mark it would also facilitate even conventional branches of the Khyber Bank.