Governance and Civil Service Reforms are need of the hour: Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar

Dated : 7 December 2018

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar has emphasized that governance and civil service reforms are need of the hour and for this purpose holistic approach should be adopted to make the reforms sustainable and productive.

The minister expressed these views during a meeting with Dr. Ishrat Hussain, Advisor for Institutional Reforms and Austerity who called on him at Islamabad on Friday. Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan, Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan and senior officials of the ministry were also present in the meeting.

The minister said that improving governance indicators and service delivery are among the main agenda of the present Government. He stated that governance reforms should focus on improving efficiency through performance management system and enhancing productivity of public sector departments. ‘Reforms should inculcate transparency, openness, rule of law, accountability and predictability for efficient working of the government’, said the minister.

Talking about civil service reforms, the minister underlined on first identifying the need for professionals and technical experts required in different ministries and divisions who will then be hired on performance based contracts. ‘The purpose behind these reforms is to bring in e-governance, enhance capacity of ministries on technical issues and existing human resource to improve the performance and output of government institutions’, added the minister.

Dr. Ishrat Hussain apprised about the progress on reform process and restructuring the public sector. It was agreed that initially 11 ministries will be offered to sign performance contracts for enhancement of output and service delivery.