Islamabad: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday announced that precious, unutilized properties will be sold off and the resulting funds will be used for public welfare projects, according to news sources. For this purpose, the premier directed the officials concerned to utilise the platform offered by the upcoming Pakistan Pakistan Property Show (PPS) Dubai – 2019.
The PM also warned that strict action would be taken against any officials found to be creating hurdles in the identification of any such non-utilised government assets. He was of the view that ineffective management of such properties could manifest into criminal negligence.
He made these statements while presiding over a meeting in which the utilization of various properties owned by different provincial and federal ministries and departments was discussed. The PM directed the asset management committee and relevant federal and provincial departments to resolve the issues hindering identification of unutilized assets within a week — so that decisions could be taken regarding their proper utilization.
Privatization Commission Secretary Rizwan Malik informed the committee about the present status of the properties owned by departments, and their possible privatization. He stated that under the federal cabinet’s decision, each ministry was tasked with identifying three such properties between the of February and March. In the initial phase of this campaign, 32 such properties had been identified.
The secretary added that a financial adviser was hired in October for the assessment of these properties and to assist in shaping future strategies in this regard. He also revealed that these properties would be marketed at the Pakistan Property Show Dubai 2019 to invite overseas investors.
PM Khan said that these properties, which were worth billions, had been left unused for too long and the money generated by selling them could be directed towards the provision of basic facilities like health and education services.
Hazafa reveres the art of writing and has been turned into a property enthusiast by profession. Her daily survival kit includes; tea, coffee, keyboard and paperbacks.
