Photo courtesy PID
Addressing certificate distribution ceremony, premier regrets being unable to introduce necessary ‘changes’ due to system’s deficiencies
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday distributed certificates of appreciation to the top 10 “best performing” federal ministries and divisions, claiming that this will encourage the remaining ministries to improve their performance for the betterment of citizens.
“Improving the performance of ministries is essential toward achieving our goal of self-sufficiency,” he said during an address at the prize distribution ceremony. “[We must ask] Are our ministries working to stabilize the country through increasing exports? How can the condition of the people be improved, how can poverty be eliminated?” he added.
Urging all ministers to keep the national interest first and foremost, he advised them to work on “out-of-the-box” solutions to deliver the maximum benefit to the public. Underlining the importance of resolving public issues through effective policymaking and good governance, he said exports, import substitution and poverty alleviation were significant areas of national interest.
Explaining why the government had opted to reward the top performing ministries, Khan said no system could function effectively without the concept of reward and punishment. “This is a great opportunity to encourage ministries to improve their performance for the benefit of the people,” he said, adding that the government had reformed the NAB laws to allay concerns of government officials who feared being hauled by the anti-graft watchdog for signing pending files in haste.
Admitting that he had been unable to bring about the “change” in the country that he had promised prior to coming into power, the prime minister claimed this was due to deficiencies in the existing system. “In the beginning we wanted to bring change immediately through revolutionary steps, but later realized that our system was incapable of absorbing shock,” he said. He said that the government would conduct a quarterly review of the performance of ministries, claiming this would foster a sense of competition and produce better results.
Awarding ministers
During the certificate distribution ceremony, the prime minister congratulated Communications Minister Murad Saeed for achieving the best performance, saying the youngest member of his cabinet had performed the best.
In order of performance, the top ministries are communications; planning and development; poverty alleviation and social safety division; education and professional training; human rights, industries and production; national security division; commerce; interior, and national food security and research.
Also on Thursday, all federal ministers and divisions signed performance agreements with the Prime Minister’s Office to achieve their respective targets for the next quarter.