PESHAWAR - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervez Khattak agreed in principle to the proposed service structure for the employees of Small Industrial Development Board (SIDB) and a bonus subject to the balance sheet of expenditures and earnings of all the centres of the board.

He was presiding over the 100th meeting of the SIDB Board of Directors at Chief Minister Secretariat Peshawar. Special Assistant to CM on Industries, administrative secretaries, members of the board of directors, Haji Afzal and others attended the assembly. The meeting had a detailed discussion on the performance of different centres of the industrial board and made a number of decisions to bring transparency, efficiency to the board and dedicate it to the twin goal of modern training to the youth and profitability and earning by different centres. It also approved the minutes of the previous meeting and the budget of the SIDB.

The chief minister directed to plan the replacement of old machinery for enhanced production and reduce electricity fare adding that there should be no extension to anyone who had a lease of plot and did not develop it yet. There are set rules and regulations and these should be followed. The board can make a decision under a special environment to lease out additional adjacent land to the industrial plot owner, he added.

Khattak directed to plan the development and construction of plazas on the land of the SIDB. He said that the board has already wasted a lot of time in the formulation of its planning that was otherwise undesirable. He directed against further experimentation and to show the door to all those employees who cannot deliver. He also asked to plan and develop commercial activities on the available plots in Bannu, Karak etc. The chief minister directed for commercialisation of the property of the Small Industrial Development Board in Abbottabad for maximum profitability.

He asked to send him a proposal indicating different options including an open auction of the plots in order to prepare a clear cut formula for either commercialisation or leasing out of these plots. He also directed to identify all the property of the board and a comprehensive plan would be evolved to develop them for commercial activities that would earn maximum profit.

The chief minister also advised inducting private sector to the commercialisation process both at BOT and profit sharing formula so that the dynamism of private sector could be used in the whole process of commercialisation that will ensure maximum dividend.

Regarding the additional land in the small industrial zones, Khattak directed to firm up recommendations but the best way would be to lease them out through an open auction. He agreed to the proposed service structure and the promotion pattern indicated by the SIDB, however, this vertical mobility should enhance the performance of the SIDB.

He advised the SIDB officials that the entity should ensure that it was money earning organisation and its performance should ensure profitability adding that the bonus to the employees should be linked to the performance and balance sheet of expenditure and earning of the organisation.

Regarding the industrial estate in Dargai, the chief minister directed to follow the pattern of first come first serve and plots should be leased out to the applicants. He also directed to take up the electricity infrastructure upgradation with the concerned quarter. A similar pattern should be followed for Kohat and Dera Ismail Khan, he added.

Khattak also directed to develop small industrial zone in Charsadda in order to give practical training to the youth of the area and advertise the small industrial zone in Abbottabad to sell the plots the potential investors.

Highlighting the objectives of small enterprises and industrial development process in the region, the chief minister directed that the ultimate goal was to train the youth for CPEC related commercial and industrial activities to meet the growing needs in the area. The development of cottage industries would spell out the baseline for industrial development under CPEC. These activities should not be seen detached from the CPEC related industrialisation and business ventures in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, he added.

The chief minister said the government would ensure transparency in all money earning projects adding that the government would develop a facility and would ensure that it was run by competent and professional peoples. What is important to see is that it should not be wastage of resources and burden on the government exchequer. He advised the organisation to get the twin goal of training and money earning. The organisation should reconstitute its working on modern lines, prepare a plan and implement the whole programme. The government he assured would implement the recommendations.

He said it is unfortunate that in the past efforts were made to dismantle the whole structure of the province. His government took the reign of power and corrected the wrongs. The past wrongs were history and his government would not allow repeating the mistakes. We have to plan for the next 10 years as the CPEC would shape up the future of this region, therefore, we have to prepare ourselves for future need of the region. He directed to dispose of different plots in Karak and other districts and also directed to give the close centres of the SIDB in Urmar, Abbottabad and other areas of the province to TEVTA.