Vice President Saulos Klaus Chilima has engaged Minister of Transport and Public Works Sidik Mia on Public Sector Reforms today.
Dr Chilima who is also the Minister Responsible for Economic Planning and Development and Public Sector Reforms promised to conduct business unusual to take the country forward.
“Today, I started engaging Cabinet Ministers to motivate them and obtain a buy-in on the Public Sector Reforms that are taking place in their respective ministries and relevant departments,”
“This afternoon I engaged Minister of Transport and Public Works, Hon. Sidik Mia and his officials from the ministry. The Minister outlined nine reform areas which are being carried out in his ministry as well as opportunities for more reforms going forward,” he says.
Chilima hails the ministry for improving the rail transport.
“Of particular interest to me was to understand the progress that has been made to improve the rail transport sector including metro and intercity lines,”
“However, it was disappointing to note that the quick wins that were obtained at the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services (DRTSS) have backtracked. This has seen the congestion that was nearly eliminated prevailing again at DRTSS. I have since implored DRTSS to ensure that the system handovers from the consultant to the department are expedited and completed by September, 2020,” he says.
Chilima has asked the department to prioritise establishing a special Vehicle Inspection Service Bay for trucks and buses to ensure that revenue from this service does not fall through the cracks.
“It is this administration’s goal that sources of revenue must be efficient if we are to develop this country. To this effect, I have asked the ministry to resubmit the proposal to recapitalise Central Materials Laboratory and establish it as a treasury fund,”
“I have also welcomed the proposal for devolution of the transport sector as a reform area and I am ready to support concrete plans that they will put forward,” he says.
