Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar chaired the maiden meeting of South Punjab secretariat at the circuit house in Multan on Thursday and issued guidelines about public service agenda of the government. Addressing the meeting, the CM directed that doors of south Punjab secretariat should remain open to the people and the officers should solve the public problems through an open-door policy. They should go out to personally monitor the ground situation. The governance model of south Punjab secretariat should be exemplary and the officers will have to come up to the expectations of the people as their task has been increased. The officers should burn the midnight oil for public service, he said. The government has adopted the zero-tolerance policy against corruption and no compromise will be made on transparency in government matters, the CM asserted. I have never tolerated corruption nor would bear it in future, the CM emphasised. Local problems should be solved at the grassroots so that the people may not have to go to the provincial capital for the solution of their petty problems. The officers are given full authority and they should work very hard to solve public problems, the CM reiterated. Provincial Minister Akhtar Malik said the south Punjab secretariat would have not been established, had Usman Buzdar not been the chief minister. Ahmed Hussain Dehar MNA said that credit of south Punjab secretariat goes to Usman Buzdar. SMBR, Commissioner and RPO Multan and CEO IDAP were also present. The CM was given a briefing about the project of south Punjab secretariat in Multan. The CM announced that south Punjab secretariat will be constructed in Multan at Mattital Road over an area of 500 Kanal and added that its design has already been approved. Necessary facilities will be provided in the 5-storey building along with an urban forest. He also gave in-principle approval to establish Multan Gymkhana and further directed to early operationalise the first phase of Nishtar Hospital-II being completed with five billion rupees to construct the 500-bed hospital facility. Parliamentarians and ticket holders including Akhtar Malik, Ahmed Hussain Dehar, Javed Ansari, Sabeen Gull, Saleem Labar, Khalid Warraich and others called on the CM and apprised him about public problems in their areas. The CM issued directions for the solution of constituency-related problems and added that parliamentarians’ recommendations will be implemented as their respect is his honour. The genuine work of assembly members will be done on a priority basis, he added. The CM regretted that past government transferred southern Punjab’s funds to other projects and the people remained hostage to backwardness and quagmire of poverty. The past rulers deceived the southern Punjab people in the name of development but the incumbent government is giving back southern Punjab its right of development. The delegation paid tributes to the CM for southern Punjab secretariat project. Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar laid the foundation stone of various projects in Multan including new campus of University of Engineering & Technology over 10 kanal land in Multan near Laar, centre manufacture special wheelchair which can be controlled through voice and a publishing centre of Braille for the blind people. The Chief Minister also reactivate the centre set up to deal with violence against women incidents. Usman Buzdar also planted a sapling in circuit house under tree plantation campaign. Chief Minister while addressing lawyers’ convention in circuit house Multan said that establishing southern Punjab secretariat is first step towards setting up of southern Punjab province. PTI government has not 2/3 majority in assembly but yet the government is making efforts for materializing the promises made during last general elections. Secretariats have been set up in Multan and Bahawalpur and soon Prime Minister Imran Khan will lay the foundation stones of both the projects. Government has to work hard for setting up of Southern Punjab secretariat, amendments have been made in Rules-of-Business and now 16 secretaries have been posted in southern Punjab secretariat. Ringfencing of the development funds allocated for southern Punjab have been made and now these funds can only be utilized for the development and progress of Southern Punjab. Southern Punjab will become a province. Usman Buzdar thanked Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, members of national and provincial assembly who supported him for the development of Multan.