LAHORE – Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar Sunday said a two-tierlocal government (LG) system was in the offing in the province while nodecision had so far been taken about the tenure of institutions.“The government has decided to introduce village councils and the directlyelected district or tehsil governments in the province, however, it has yetto be decided whether their tenure will be three or four years,” he saidduring an interview with APP on Sunday.
The governor said he was passionate about empowering people throughdecentralisation of powers. The LG system badly failed in those countrieswhere the elected representatives were restrained from decision-making.Chaudhry Sarwar, who renounced his British citizenship after remainingMember of British Parliament and took charge as the Punjab governor for thesecond time, said he had returned to his birthplace to serve the people ofhis native country.
He said: “All of us must utilise our full energies to bring about a betterchange in the lives of Pakistanis and improve the country’s image .” Ittook Britain centuries to evolve a democratic system, and the PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was moving in the right direction for thepurpose, he added.About governance, the governor stressed the need for introducingsustainable reforms in the system. Prime Minister Imran Khan was committedto fulfill his election manifesto of change, which would ultimately bringchange in the lives of countrymen.
About his parting of ways with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, he said hehad left the PML-N after experiencing obstructions in the delivery ofjustice. There was no good to be a governor if one’s directions were notcomplied with by the state departments and the people were denied justice,he added.During the PML-N government, power was centralised to the party’s fourbigwigs only, he said.
Chaudhry Sawar said though the picture was not rosy yet the PTI governmentwas committed to make the state institutions serve the masses.Regarding the yesteryears slogan of ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makan’, the governorsaid the government would provide jobs and shelter to the masses. Theconstruction of five million homes and provision of 10 million jobs to theunemployed was a step in the right direction, he said, adding that thepeople could not be befooled with hollow slogans.
To a question, he said Prime Minister Imran Khan was the first leader, whohad a vision for empowering the unprivileged and he would translate thedreams of the middle-class people for a better living standard into reality.Talking about environment-friendly power projects, the governor criticisedthe last PML-N government for installing hazardous coal-power projects inthe country. It was need of the hour to switch to the solar system andhydropower projects. He had asked universities and wished otherinstitutions like hospitals, schools etc, to adopt solar system as analternate source of energy, he added.Chaudhry Sarwar expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of thepublic-sector universities, which, he said, needed to do a lot to improvetheir performance in academics, sports and co-curricular activities.
Alluding to tough decisions regarding the public sector universities, thegovernor said the higher education institutions needed reforms as personsat important posts like registrars and treasurers were working on ad-hocbasis with several varsities had temporary vice-chancellors.The PTIgovernment believed in the right person at the right place in suchinstitutions. The seat of pro-vice chancellor at the universities would beabolished, he added.About water scarcity, he said it was a national cause to work for theconstruction of new reservoirs to save the next generations from thecrisis. The country required multiple dams of smaller storage capacity,which could even be built on canals and waterfalls.He urged students to come forward and raise funds for the dams.
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About revival of the textile industry, he said the government had reducedpower tariff for the agriculture sector to half in order to rejuvenate thecotton crop, which was 56 per cent of the country’s agriculture yield. Thegas prices for the industry had also been revised. Such concessions wouldhelp increase the country’s exports which had fallen to mere $20 billion,compared to the $58 billion imports, he added.About charity works, the governor said that serving humanity was hispassion and helping the needy gave him immense energy and strength in life.“Serving my country inspired me to return to Pakistan and renounce myBritish nationality”.
He said he had founded the Sarwar Foundation during his stay in the UnitedKingdom (UK), in the year 2000, which was setting up hospitals, andeducational and handicrafts institutions in Pakistan.
About the promise of change, he said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) hadstood up to its decision and the recent October 14 by-polls was the firststep towards breaking with the bad tradition. The PTI candidates lost therecent by-polls, but it did not involve the state institutions orgovernment servants to influence the election results, he added.“Independence to the state institutions and zero political interference intheir affairs is another promise which has been fulfilled by the PTIgovernment,” he added.
To a query, he said people were the fountainhead of power and the doors ofGovernor’s House would always remain open for the common citizens,especially the youth.
