ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Information Technology here on Monday directed the Ministry of Information Technology and its attached departments, particularly the PTA, to take steps for improving the service quality and to bring in greater efficiency and transparency in its operations.

The committee expressed reservations over the practice of converting employment of regular employees by the PTCL into contracts and wanted to know its rationale, since it was creating unrest among the employees of the corporation.

The committee was also critical of charging a fee for converting a fixed-line number into a wireless one and asked the ministry to explain why this was being done in clear violation of rules.

The committee also sought details of the appointments and promotions made in the NTC Headquarters and the provincial offices during the past five years. It observed that the ratio of people from the smaller provinces was comparatively low.

The committee also reiterated its earlier observation that the service quality of mobile companies remained poor and needed to be improved urgently.Earlier, Adviser to the Prime Minister on IT Sardar Latif Khan Khosa assured the committee that he would himself look after the matters in the ministry and its attached departments and would make every effort to bring about further improvement. The meeting was attended by Committee Chairman Muhammad Idrees Khan Safi, Senators Muhammad Zahid Khan, Saleem Saifullah Khan, Fauzia Fakhruzzaman and others.
Source: The News
Date:2/9/2010