Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah on Friday chaired a high-level meeting of the Secretaries Committee, which was attended by all departmental heads and senior officers of the Government of Sindh via video link.
Officials said the meeting reviewed a wide range of governance and administrative matters with particular focus on administrative discipline, inspection regimes, fire safety preparedness, audit mechanisms, promotions, disciplinary cases, recruitment processes, and digital governance reforms.
The CS underscored the importance of attendance and punctuality across all government departments, stating that discipline at the workplace reflects the seriousness, efficiency, and credibility of public institutions. He directed all departments to strictly ensure compliance in this regard.
He referred to the tragic Gul Plaza fire, observing that the incident exposed gaps in coordination and oversight by major departments towards their attached departments. He emphasized that every department has been established with a defined mandate and responsibility, and departmental heads must ensure that attached bodies are not neglected.
Shah stressed that leadership accountability is essential, particularly in institutions directly linked to human life, safety, and public welfare. He directed all departmental heads to take full ownership of their respective departments and attached institutions, ensuring effective supervision, monitoring, and compliance with safety and operational standards.
In connection with inspection regimes, he issued clear instructions to all departments responsible for inspections, stating that inspections must be conducted on a regular and professional basis rather than being limited to the issuance of challans or routine revenue collection. He stressed that inspections should be meaningful, transparent, and outcome-oriented.
He further directed all relevant departments to submit a two-page report detailing their inspection criteria, timelines, scope, and implementation mechanisms to ensure standardization and accountability across departments.
Regarding fire safety measures, the chief secretary instructed that comprehensive fire safety audits must be conducted in all government buildings, prisons, bus terminals, and other public places where large numbers of citizens gather.
He informed the meeting that the government has constituted 140 teams of assistant commissioners, who will conduct field visits across the province to ensure the effective implementation of fire safety measures and compliance with safety protocols.
On the matter of audit and financial accountability, the CS directed all secretaries to convene regular meetings of the Public Accounts Committee and Departmental Accounts Committee to ensure timely disposal of audit objections and pending paras. He emphasized that audit issues must be addressed proactively to strengthen transparency and financial discipline. He also instructed departments to expedite pending promotion and disciplinary cases, stressing that unnecessary delays in such matters negatively affect morale and administrative efficiency.
During the meeting, the provincial job portal was also discussed. The CS directed all departments to accelerate the recruitment process through the job portal, adding that technical posts will be advertised separately to ensure transparency, merit, and efficiency in hiring.
Highlighting progress in digital governance, he noted that the introduction and increased use of digital summaries have significantly reduced delays in decision-making. He stated that digital processing has saved valuable time and contributed to improved governance, efficiency, and responsiveness within the provincial administration.
The meeting concluded with a renewed commitment from all departments to strengthen coordination, accountability, safety standards, and service delivery for the welfare and protection of the public.
