Human resource development termed priority for merged districts

PESHAWAR: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Excise and Taxation Ghazan Jamal on Wednesday said though all other forms of development were important, it is the investment in human development that would make a lasting impact on the development of the merged districts.

He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the six-month vocational training programme for youth of merged districts at the Human Resource Development Centre of the Sarhad Rural Support Programme (SRSP) in Hayatabad.

Provincial Minister for Relief and Rehabilitation from North Waziristan Iqbal Wazir, Adviser to Chief Minister on Industries Abdul Karim Khan, Resident Representative of UNDP Ignacio Artaza and Sajjad Khan, TVETA Manager, also attended the ceremony.

The training programme is one of the components of the Merged Districts’ Economic Revitalisation Programme which is being implemented in a 20-month period in North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Khyber districts by the SRSP with the financial support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and USAID.

Ghazan Jamal said with the youth bulge in the population growth in the country, focus on them was vital to laying down a sound foundation for sustainable economic development in the region.

The government was making every effort to include the youth in the development process in the merged districts, he said and urged the youth to benefit from the social safety net programmes the government was initiating in their districts.

Ghazan Jamal said that during his tour in the field he had found SRSP working in the most difficult areas and setting a very good example of public service.

Abdul Karim, the advisors to the chief minister on Industries, congratulated the SRSP for setting up a state of the art vocational and human resource centre.

He said the skill training was only one component of training, while awareness building and sensitization were equally if not more important.

The training centre offers excellent opportunities for trainees from the remote part of the province to learn in an ideal environment and they must make the best of it, he said, adding, the government would seek technical assistance on some of its mineral development programmes from the donors, particularly the UNDP.

SRSP Chief Executive Officer Masoodul Mulk said the decision to initiate a FATA Unit within the SRSP in 2007 by the government was a very good decision because it was based on an organic and process-oriented approach to development rather than a blueprint and mechanical approach.

“Fragile and marginal environments required innovative approaches to reach communities living in remote and harsh environments and the programmes offered in development and social safety nets must be able to respond to such environments,” he added.

He said that the SRSP had been able to build on the approach and work in the most accessible parts of the province.

Resident Representative of UNDP Ignacio Artaza said that his organisation had got good support from the government and the civil society partners to undertake programmes in the region.

He explained that the livelihood-centred programme was only one of the many programmes being undertaken by the UNDP to assist the government of Pakistan and it was working closely in helping the government in designing its strategic plans and also in the promotion of rule of law.

Representatives of the youth thanked the government, donors and the SRSP for initiating this important programme and urged greater international assistance so that the decades of neglect and war they had suffered could be made up through the efforts of the government and international community.

Certificates were distributed among youths from South and North Waziristan by the Iqbal Wazir, Provincial Minister Relief and Rehabilitation, who mingled with the youth and asked about their welfare.

Sajjad Khan, TVETA Manager, spoke on the occasion and said linking training programmes with employment opportunities was a must.

The SRSP is implementing the programme in North and South Waziristan districts.

The first component of the programme is the rehabilitation of economic infrastructure. A total of 60 projects have been identified and designed. As many as 57 have been initiated and 35 of them completed.

Up to 2,931 individuals have received business opportunities and upscaling support out of which 1,164 are women.

In the vocational training component, 1,254 are women entrepreneurs. A total of 1,254 individuals are enrolled in different trades and include both men and women.