KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that his government was striving hard to make healthy, wealthy and developed Sindh. “My each and every step in moving in that direction but this all would be possible when donor agencies like World Bank would show some to take up some important projects.”
This he said this talking to a high power nine-member delegation of the World Bank led by its CEO Ms Kristalina Georgieva which called on him here on Saturday. The other members include Vice President South Asia Ms Annette Dixon, Country Director Pakistan Mr Patchamuthu Illangovan, Director Strategy & Operation Franz Drees-Gross, Programme Leader Inamula Haq and others. The chief minister was assisted by Minister for P&D Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Minister Transport Mumtaz Jakhrani, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, ACS (dev) M. Waseem, Secretary Energy Agha Wasif, Secretary Finance Hassan Naqvi and others.
Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the Sukkur Barrage is a life-line of agro-economy of province of Sindh. It serves people of Sindh from last 83 years and now it has completed its logical age. “We have one option either to rehabilitate it or reconstruct a new barrage. Construction of new barrage would be inevitable even if the present one is rehabilitated,” he said and added that he was not only talking about rehabilitation or reconstruction of Sukkur Barrage but the entire canal system [has to be rehabilitated].
The CEO of the World Bank said that she had gone through the case the Sindh government has filed with World Bank.
The World Bank was in favour of supporting Sindh but it has to be decided whether the rehabilitation or the reconstruction of the barrage project may be take up. On this the World bank Country Director said he was in need of some more papers and details of the study of the barrage so that World Bank could take a final decision. The bank is agreed to support Sindh, he said. The Chief Minister thanked the visiting team and directed ACS (Dev) Mr Waseem to coordinate with World Bank country office in Islamabad and furnish them necessary documents for making the case more strong.
ACS (Dev) Mohammad Waseem briefing the World Bank team on Stunting said that the Sindh government with the support of UNICEF had conducted a Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (MICS) which had made some startling disclosures.
The survey says that due shortage of necessary nutrients among the girls before their marriage and among the mothers and new born the growth of the children is affected badly.
The survey showed that the stunt rate in Sindh is 48 percent. He added that the shortage of nutrition among the mothers and their children not only overall growth of children but affect their height badly. He went on saying that the wasting rate has also been measured at 15 percent.
The Sindh Chief Minister said that his government has worked out a nutrition plan to provide micro nutrients to the children right from their birth upto the age of 5 and to their mothers. Even these supplements would also be given to girls who attain the age of marriage.
He added that under the plan the Stunting and wasting rate would be brought down by 5 percent within the first five years of the Nutrition Programme and another 5 percent in successive five year programme.
The World Bank team made a commitment of $63 million to finance the Sindh Nutrition Prgramme.
The ACS (Dev) briefing the visiting team said that the Sindh government has envisage an `Ease of Doing Business Programme’ under which a one-window facility for businessmen and investors would be developed at Board of Investment.
Syed Murad Ali Shah said that presently an investor has to make multiple trips of 12 departments to get NoCs for investment or expanding business activities.
The One-Widow Operation would facilitate the investors and business men to get the required formalities completed without moving from one table to other and one department to another department.
The World Bank team made a commitment to prepare a Web Portal for Sindh government to start Ease of Doing Business Programme.
The Sindh Chief Minister said that the World Bank had agreed to finance $100 million to restore old city (Karachi) areas right from Pakistan Chowk to Empress Market. Under this project the roads, water supply, drainage line, buildings, parks had to be rehabilitated.—INP
