QUETTA, June 1: Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis Ghulam Sarwar Khan has said that the federal government has approved a grant of Rs515 million from the workers welfare fund for launching development projects in Balochistan during the next financial year.
Speaking at a press conference here on Wednesday, he said that the government wanted to provide maximum funds for the welfare of labourers in Balochistan which had been ignored in the past.
He said that hardly 10 per cent of the workers welfare fund allocated by the federal government for Balochistan could have so far been utilized in the province due to various reasons.
He urged upon the provincial labour department and workers organizations to identify more comprehensive schemes for the welfare of labourers in the province. .
The minister said that the government was making all possible efforts to remove sense of deprivation among the people of Balochistan.
He said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz were taking special interest in the development of the province for which the government had approved several projects worth Rs31 billion under the Public Sector Development Programme for the year 2005-06.
He said that Rs8200 million would be spent on conservation and development of water resources in the province, including construction of eight dams in different areas.
The National Highway Authority would spend Rs6,500 million to improve the road network whereas Rs3.75 million had been allocated for shipping sector and Rs826 million for education sector in Balochistan.
Three cadet colleges would be constructed in Panjgur, Jafarabad and Qila Saifullah, Mr Khan added.
He said that many projects for socio-economic uplift of the workers had been initiated i.e. educational institutes, vocational training centres and labour colonies. The projects would cost millions of rupees.
Answering a question about a kidney centre in Quetta, the minister said that its building had been completed and it would start working by August this year.
He said that Rs150 million had been granted for purchasing equipment and machinery for the centre.
He said that the provincial government had been asked to complete recruitment of doctors and other staff for the centre within next two months.
He said that the federal government would bear expenses of the kidney centre for two years that would include salaries of the staff and procurement of medicines.
Answering another question, he said that the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia under which 100,000 jobs would be provided to Pakistanis in the Far-Eastern country. He added that Balochistan would get its due share in the jobs.
He said that his ministry was ready to issue licenses to the people from Balochistan who wanted to start business of recruitment for oversees employment.
He said that Balochistan had representation in the governing body of the Workers Welfare Board.
He said that the ministry of labour would constitute a monitoring committee to ensure launching of the workers development scheme and their completion in time.
The minister said that in Balochistan the mine workers would be provided the same facilities being enjoying by the industrial workers.
He said that the Worker Welfare Board had already announced construction of a big labour colony in Gwadar for which the Balochistan government would provide land.
"We are planning to set up a labour city in Gwadar," the minister said.
Answering yet another question, he said that the Overseas Foundation would establish a collage in Quetta very soon.
Provincial Minister for Labour Maulana Faiz Mohammad was present at the press conference.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/06/02/nat9.htm |
