ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal on Friday inaugurated a "Governance Innovation Lab" in Islamabad to ensure transparency and improve service delivery in the South Asian country, the planning ministry said.
The special lab has been established at the Pakistani ministry of science and technology and was inaugurated on the occasion of International Anti-Corruption Day.
The key objectives of the lab will be to enhance transparency and resolve problems faced by various government departments.
“The lab will focus on connecting knowledge with action and act as an agent of change within the public sector,” Iqbal said at the launch.
“Our commitment is not merely based on slogans or deception, rather to take practical steps to eliminate corruption, as developments from 2013-18 demonstrates.”
He announced that the planning ministry would establish a hotline and appoint an ombudsperson to address complaints received from citizens and whistle-blowers on instances of corruption in public sector development projects.
The Governance Innovation Lab will help provide innovative solutions to improve transparency through structural solutions to end the menace of corruption, according to the minster.
“There is a dire need to give confidence to government officials so that they can take decisions based on merit while ensuring transparency without fear of persecution,” he added.
Dr Adnan Rafiq, a senior official at the Planning Commission, said the government took this initiative to create a collaborative community of multi-disciplinary experts to drive public sector reforms.
“The Governance Innovation Lab will focus on key governance challenges which include taxation reforms, increasing exports, enhancing ease of doing business, justice system reforms, effective coordination between federal, provincial and local governments and to improve impact of PSDP while reducing leakages,” Dr Rafiq explained.