PM vows to spend each penny of public money honestly

ATTABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that the government will spend each and every penny of the public money honestly and repair the damage done during the previous government’s tenure by working with honesty and dedication.
The prime minister said transparency and honesty should be the hallmarks of the future administration throughout the country, including Gilgit-Baltistan. “Corruption to the extent of a single penny shouldn’t be tolerated,” Nawaz said while talking to the members of the Legislative Assembly of GB, ministers and senior officials of the government here on the occasion of inauguration of tunnels and rebuilt portion of the Karakoram Highway. The project is viewed as one of the wonders of the world and it would be a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Governor GB Chaudhry Barjees Tahir, Chief Minister Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman, Special Assistant to the PM on Political Affairs Dr Asif Saeed Kirmani, Secretary to PM Javaid Aslam and Chinese Ambassador for Pakistan Sun Widong also accompanied the prime minister. The GB chief minister briefed the prime minister on the project. The prime minister urged the GB government to maintain a high level of transparency and integrity in the expenditure of public money and the same should be the conduct of the whole country. The premier also stressed to rectify the mistakes of the past and make corrections where necessary. He said that the GB was a vital link in the CPEC and would benefit most from this mega project, which would increase the tourist influx.
Nawaz said the PML-N government in GB was determined to change the fate of the region as the federal government views all the provinces and areas as equally important and would strengthen the GB administration by enabling it to serve the public by ameliorating the economic outlook of the area.
The chief minister in his briefing proposed some major projects for the area, including a university, cardiac centre, construction of Gilgit-Skardu and Gilgit-Naltar roads, hydel power project, sewerage project for Gilgit, tourist resort at the Attaabad Lake and Shigar Road.
The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to process the projects on priority and assured the chief minister and members of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly that the federal government would give due consideration to the proposals and would provide full support in realising these projects.
The prime minister raised the ceiling of GB government for approval of projects to Rs1 billion that was previously Rs400 million.
The prime minister visited the GB for the second time in three months and in between his two attempts were aborted by bad weather. Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman informed the premier that this summer more than 600,000 tourists visited GB, which shows an upward economic activity in the region.
Nawaz welcomed the Chinese ambassador to GB and said that this area was a significant part of the CPEC. He said the federal and GB governments were working hard on various development projects in the area to complement the economic activity, which would be generated by the opening of the Economic Corridor. The prime minister said the Economic Corridor on its completion will provide north-south and south-north connectivity. He said Chinese products will reach Gwadar in the shortest time and access to warm waters will ensure speedy and uninterrupted economic activity in the extended region.
The prime minister said the Gwadar Port will be a state-of-the-art facility and to attract investment a modern and fully equipped airport was also being built at Gwadar. He thanked the Chinese government for building the CPEC.
Later, Nawaz visited the Attaabad Lake and visited seven-kilometre-long tunnels which were named as ‘Pak-China Friendship’ tunnels.
The prime minister travelled from tunnel No1 to tunnel No5 and terminated his travel at the last point of the rebuilt 24 kilometres portion of the Karakoram Highway, where he was briefed by the National Highway Authority (NHA) on the project. After completion of the tunnel, the Karakoram Highway has been restored that was damaged in 2010 due to landsliding. The five tunnels are part of a 24-kilometre-long portion of the reconstructed Karakoram Highway. Two big and 78 small bridges have also been constructed. The project has been completed in a span of three years and two months.
The prime minister said the federal government had allocated Rs27 billion for the Karakoram development project. “This amount is at least three times larger than the annual development budget of Rs8 billion for GB and reflects our love for the people of this area,” the prime minister said. He said that mega development projects are necessary in GB. Welcoming the increase in tourism in the area this year, Nawaz said that around 0.7 to 0.8 million tourists visited GB this year. “This is the first time such a huge number of tourists from all over the country visited this area in a year,” he added.
The prime minister announced Rs150 million for the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) while appreciating the body’s efforts for uplift activities across the country.