PDWP’s meeting held through video link

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government convened a meeting of the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) through a video link.

An official handout said the Planning and Development Department, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, convened the 20th meeting of the PDWP through a video teleconferencing application known as zoom. It said the step was taken to ensure the continuity of governance and improve inter-departmental coordination in the light of COVID-19 outbreak. The meeting was chaired by Additional Chief Secretary Shakeel Qadir Khan with the virtual participation of secretary Finance, chief economist, secretary Local Government, secretary Communications and Works and senior representatives of Education and Health departments. In strict compliance with the standard operating procedures for social distancing and self-quarantine laid down by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government for all citizens as well as officials, the PDWP meeting was organized in a remote working mode via the digital application.

The novel working methodology had enabled the Planning and Development Department, as well as other essential departments to continue working while adhering to the safety controls. The digital platform has already been installed in the offices of the chief secretary and additional chief secretary, while other departments including Finance and Local Government are in the process of getting it installed.

The agenda of the PDWP meeting focused on the two major components of the World Bank-funded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Refugees and Host Communities Project encompassing the Elementary and Secondary Education (at cost of Rs17,882 million) and Health (at a cost of Rs13,260 million) sectors to be implemented in four districts including Peshawar, Nowshera, Haripur and Swabi.

The sub-window for the project has been extended by the World Bank on a 50 percent loan and 50 percent grant modality, which aims to extend socioeconomic benefits to the refugee as well as host communities. Both the components of the KP Refugees and Host Communities were cleared by the PDWP for the appraisal of the Central Development Working Party and approval by the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) subsequently.