PESHAWAR: The NWFP government is looking for foreign donors to develop the information technology (IT) sector in the province to bring it at par with other countries in the region, provincial minister Ayub Ashari said here Tuesday.

“We are looking forward to hold talks with foreign companies to get investment and support in the sector,” the information technology minister told The News. The minister admitted the province was short of resources and that was the reason for trying to attract outside investment in the sector.

Ayub Ashari and senior officials of his department highlighted a number of achievements of his ministry in recent years. He informed that the IT department was working on computerising the record of the revenue department and that the property tax system had been computerised. According to Ashari, the secretary of the information technology department Amjad Afridi was transferred to another department but he requested his re-posting as secretary IT as he had delivered while serving there.

The ministry comprises of two different directorates: the information technology and science and technology. Sajid Hussain Shah, director IT NWFP told The News a centre of excellence was being set up to prepare IT professionals from universities. “We have launched a comprehensive project of establishing computer laboratories in government schools across the province. Laboratories have been established in 350 to 400 schools so far,” he said.

“We have computerised the record of drivers’ licenses in most of the districts of the province while the rest would be done by June. This had boosted manifold the revenue in terms of license fee. In June 2007 the revenue was only Rs39,500 while in August 2009 it went up to Rs73.83 million,” explained Sajid Hussain.

He said the manual system of staff recruitment and promotion in the establishment department had been computerised. He added that the record of the NWFP Assembly had also been computerised.

Director Science and Technology Khalid Khan informed that a Science and Technology Park is being established in the city for supporting a knowledge-based economy and fostering market-oriented technological development.

He added that the ADP of the coming financial year includes establishment of cluster level quality enhancement lab, strengthening and invigoration of Lab Teaching System and provision of Tele-Health Services in basic health units of NWFP from the main hospitals of Peshawar.

It was pointed out that all this was achieved despite the fact that a total of Rs140 million, which makes only 0.003 per cent of the annual development fund of the province, was allocated for the IT sector in the fiscal budget for 2009-2010.F.P.Report