Pre-qualification exercise: Govt looking to develop a consultancy sector

LAHORE:

The provincial government is looking to engage academics, civil society organisations, private corporations, business and private consultants to improve the quality of services provided by the government, Planning and Development Secretary Iftikhar Ali Sahoo said at a seminar on pre-qualification of consulting firms for capacity building of government departments on Wednesday.

The seminar was held at the Planning and Development Complex.

Sahoo said in the past, the provincial government had used the expertise of private consultants and was trying to enlist more experts to build the government capacity to come up with better projects. “The role of a competent consultant cannot be undermined,” Sahoo said. The addition of academics, civil society organisations and private concerns could add much value, he said.  “The government’s mandate goes beyond pre-qualification…it wants to develop a consultancy sector,” said Sahoo. “This is what this seminar is about.”

He said this was in line with the chief minister’s vision for the province. “The provincial government is planning on launching large-scale projects during the fiscal year 2016-17 by involving and ensuring partnership with international and local consultancy firms and companies.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2016.