‘Outsourcing cleaning system to create one lakh jobs’

LAHORE:Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafiq has said that about one lac new employment opportunities will be created due to the outsourcing of cleaning work across Punjab.

Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has directed that the recruitment should be done from the local population. While presiding over a video link meeting of CEOs of waste management companies at Civil Secretariat, he said that the contractors would be obliged to use the manpower and machinery of the waste management companies.

‘Therefore, he said, it is important to keep all the machinery in full working condition’. Local Government Secretary Shakeel Ahmed Mian, Special Secretary Asia Gul, Additional Secretary Maria Tariq and Lahore Waste Management Company CEO Babar Sahib Din also participated in the meeting. On this occasion, while reviewing the outsourcing of sanitation work under the supervision of solid waste management companies, the provincial minister asked for a progress report on the survey process under the auspices of a bank and an NGO across the province.

Addressing the participants of the meeting, Local Government Minister said that providing quality sanitation facilities to the people is the focus of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz. ‘A checklist has been sent to the CEOs of all waste management companies by the Local Government Department. Implementation of checklist and given timeline should be ensured’, he added. The provincial minister expressed satisfaction that private companies have shown great interest in the process of outsourcing. However, he clarified that the Punjab government would not award contract to anyone without fulfilling all legal requirements in a transparent manner. Zeeshan Rafiq emphasised that private contractors should prefer to recruit staff at the local level.

‘Local elected representatives should be taken in to loop at every stage of outsourcing to ensure maximum public participation’, he stressed. He also directed to ensure zero waste once in every area before entrusting the cleaning work to the contractors. ‘As this is a new system, the queries raised by the contractors should be answered in a friendly manner. When the new sanitation system is in place, complications will gradually disappear’ he figured out. The minister expressed his determination to move forward by learning from the experiences and challenges gained so far. Secretary Local Government Shakeel Ahmed Mian instructed all the CEOs that smog season is about to show up. ‘Pay special attention to the cleanliness of the roads.