Special cell to monitor performance of Punjab govt departments

Supervisory unit set up at office of Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Secretary Yousaf Naseem Khokhar has set up a special cell at his office to monitor the performance of departments and officers.

The establishment of the Chief Secretary's Performance and Reforms Cell is aimed at improving governance and public service delivery through information technology.

Speaking at a meeting of all administrative secretaries and divisional commissioners at Civil Secretariat on Tuesday, Khokhar said that the cell would not only monitor performance, but also work on reforms in different sectors, especially health and education.

He said that the targets of progress could not be achieved without curbing corruption. Khokhar added that effective measures against corruption would help stop financial irregularities, besides improving the performance of departments.

He directed the administrative secretaries to strengthen the system of accountability and audit within departments by effectively performing the functions of principal accounting officers.

Asking the director general anti-corruption for early disposal of pending inquiries, the chief secretary assured that the Punjab government would provide support to the Anti-Corruption Establishment to overcome a shortage of quality human resources.

The chief secretary directed the officers to strictly implement an open door policy and keep the doors of their offices open for the public. The instructions regarding holding open courts should also be implemented and the people should be given due respect at government offices, he added.

The chief secretary said that the capability of government departments would be enhanced through IT. He directed the PITB chairman to bring an improvement in IT systems being used for price control in districts so that effective monitoring of daily-use items could be ensured.

The chief secretary also issued directives regarding the early disposal of departmental inquiries, pension cases and complaints received on the Pakistan Citizen Portal.