Sindh Minister for Information, Local Government, Housing Town Planning, Religious Affairs, and Forest Department, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah has said that the process of giving advertisements to the newspapers would be made more transparent.
At the same time, the provincial Minister for Information said that dummy newspapers should also be identified, so that government money was not wasted in giving advertisements to these newspapers. He said this while talking to the officers of Sindh Information Department in Karachi, after assuming the charge of the Information Ministry on Thursday.
Those who met Syed Nasir Hussain Shah included incumbent Secretary Information Rasheed Ahmed Solangi, Secretary Information Ahmed Baksh Narejo, who was on leave, Director General Public Relations, and Directors of all the Directorates of Sindh Information Department posted at the headquarter. Secretary Information briefed the Minister in detail on the current situation and functioning of the Information Department.
Syed Nasir Hussain Shah while praising the services of outgoing Minister Saeed Ghani said that, he would also try to further improve the relationship between the media and the information department. Provincial Minister for Information said that a comprehensive and transparent policy would be formulated regarding the distribution of public advertisements, in which the opinion of all stakeholders would be given importance.
Speaking on the internal issues of the Information Department, he said that available vacancies in grades 1 to 4 should be filled up immediately on merit. In addition, if there were vacant posts available in grades 5 through 15, then these posts should be advertised, and that the recruitments on these posts would be done on merit through the Institute of Business Administration’s test. Syed Nasir Hussain Shah directed that promotions of officers and officials of Information Department should not be delayed without any legitimate reason.
Talking about the capacity building and skill development, the Minister for Information said that the training of the officers would also be arranged so as to bring improvement in the functioning of the Department. In addition, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that a media centre would also be set up, so that the efforts and steps being taken by the Sindh government for the welfare of the people of the province could be effectively highlighted.
