UNDP and PITB may collaborate to solve huge social problems

Lahore: Country Director of United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Mr. Marc-Andre Franche said that IT based projects had great potential to solve huge social problems such as corruption and mismanagement prevailing in public sector. He was addressing a meeting held at Arfa Software Technology Park on Monday.

Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB) Dr. Umar Saif briefed him on the projects of PITB related to Health, Education, Police, Flood Relief, Livestock, Public Reforms, and Governance in Punjab. He was also assisted by the Director Generals Mr. Sajid Latif, Mr. Waqar Amir Qureshi and Mr. Rizwan Ahmad and General Manager Ms. Muhibbi Hussain. Congratulating the Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Dr. Umar Saif, Mr. Franche said that the edge-cutting and impressive initiatives taken by PITB were worth implementing in other countries.

He said that UNDP saw a lot of synergies for pushing forward ongoing process of public reforms in the governance system of Punjab and other provinces of Pakistan. “We can collaborate in the programs aiming at rehabilitation of FATA’s Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). We want to take your experiments and knowledge to other provinces like Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa whereas we are already funding for Police reforms in KPK. A joint collaboration to enhance local governments’ performance is another potential field where UNDP can make co-funding to PITB,” he added.

Dr. Umar Saif thanked the guest on valuable remarks and said “we hope to take it forward for betterment of the common people who need improve their lives. Equally the PITB will have lot of opportunities to extend the volume of its IT based projects that need funding from the international development organizations like UNDP”. He assured that the PITB believed in excellence and transparency and striving for the same to bring it across government departments so that the end user is facilitated as it deserved. Dr. Saif presented a memento of Arfa IT Tower to the guest. Mr. Franche lauded PITB’s achievements by entering following remarks in the Guests’ Book “Amazing, inspiring and ground breaking work. My heartfelt congratulations for the wonderful work for the people of Punjab.”