“This money will be redirected to where it really matters – to education, health, agriculture, water, roads and energy to improve the lives of our people”, he declared.
The post of Deputy Minister will be abolished, he said, and would be replaced by “Secretaries of State with clear and well-defined responsibilities, who answer directly to the Ministers.”
The Secretaries of State in the provinces, Chapo added, “will concentrate only on the supervision, monitoring and evaluation of the tasks of the state and central government within the province”, while all executive tasks “will be in the hands of the Provincial Executive Council, led by the Provincial Governor”.
There have been frequent complaints that the secretaries of state simply duplicate the work of the provincial governors. Chapo said his proposed reorganisation “will eliminate unnecessary duplications, reduce costs, and improve attendance to the real needs of the people”.
He promised to revise the privileges granted to state officials. In particular, he planned to freeze the acquisition of protocol vehicles for officials and spend the money instead “on ambulances and other vehicles that serve the people”.
He promised “concrete measures which show that the government is prepared to tighten its belt and set an example. We have to lead by example”.
He announced that public companies and assets that are not strategic will be privatised or farmed out. “The purpose is to reduce the burden on the state budget, generate revenue to invest in priority sectors, and make important sectors of the economy more competitive ”, said Chapo.
He wanted to see “a smaller government, but one that is much more agile and efficient”.