PESHAWAR: The Excise & Taxation Department formally launched the first ever In-Service Training Program at its new Training facility i.e. Training Resource Centre (TRC) for the officers and staff of the Excise Department. Mian Jamsheduddin Kakakhail Provincial Minister for Excise & Taxation inaugurated the state of the art TRC, in Peshawar, on Tuesday. The event was also attended by Mr. Sebastian Ernst, First Secretary Political Affairs at the German Embassy and Mr. Christian Kapfensteiner, head of GiZ support to Local Governance program as well as ranking officers from German Embassy and GiZ and others. The specialized training program is an important milestone for the department which is trying to modernize its operations to meet the public expectations. With almost, 1400 staff posted in over 30 regional offices across the province, replacing redundant work practices with modern tools and techniques has proved to be a difficult hurdle to overcome. One of the biggest challenges, has been the lack of capacity of staff who seldom undergo any training throughout their career. The in-service Training Program will bridge this incapacitating gap by providing training opportunity to 1,000 existing staff members on core competencies relevant to their jobs. Speaking on the occasion, Mian Jamsheduddin Kakakhail, Provincial Minister for Excise & Taxation said it is amongst the objectives of the provincial government to improve the quality of service to its citizens. He said, the excise department was an important organization when it came to providing services to the general public and through this program, the skills of its staff will be updated to facilitate rolling out of new and innovative services. The minister lauded the initiative of the department saying, no nation can progress without investing in its human resource. The minister also extended his thanks to the vital support of GiZ by establishing a modern training resource centre and designing of customized training programs according to our needs. Sebastian Ernst from the German Embassy while addressing the gathering highlighted the partnership between Pakistan and Germany. “This new training program and TRC serves as an important milestone in improving service delivery and revenue generation. Germany will continue to support local governance with a particular focus on revenue generation.” he said. The Secretary Excise, Javed Marwat highlighted the landmark initiative of the provincial government in detail and said, the department will be able to internalize these trainings as its regular activity. He said, the in-service Training Program will initially focus on five key areas of capacity building, which includes independent modules on accounting and finance, information technology, internal audit, tax laws and procurement. He said, it will be implemented in three phases to be completed within 24 months. He further said, the initial phase of the training will be carried out by GiZ, whereas the final phase will be entirely implemented by the Department, he added. Published in Daily Times, December 13th 2017.