NEW TASKFORCE TO MONITOR RURAL PROJECTS
PUTRAJAYA: A special task force will be set up by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry to monitor its projects regularly, to prevent them from becoming “sick projects”.
Its minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said ministry secretary-general Datuk Borhan Dollah will chair the task force, which will regularly meet up for updates on all the projects.
“The task force must meet regularly, perhaps every two months, to get a current update on the progress of all the projects.
“By getting frequent updates on a project’s status, we can discover problems beforehand and fix it.
“Before this, a lot of troubled projects were only discovered after it had “fallen sick”. By then, it could be too late. With this task force, we can avoid this from happening,” said Ismail Sabri, at a press conference on the ministry’s Budget 2018 highlights.
The ministry has been allocated RM9.483bil in Budget 2018, with RM5.614bil going into operating expenditure, while RM3.869bil is set aside for development expenditure.
On another note, Ismail Sabri said the ministry will introduce a skills training scheme under GIATMARA for tahfiz schools.
“With this scheme, students in tahfiz schools will not only learn how to master the al-Quran, but also have the opportunity to be equipped with other skills – for example, in automotive skills, as an added value,” said the minister.
He said the matter will be presented in the Cabinet in December for approval.
About RM50mil of the ministry’s budget allocation for 2018 has been set aside for tahfiz schools, which also includes rewiring works for all registered schools in the country.
Ismail Sabri said the rewiring works will be conducted by GIATMARA students free of charge.
“The students who are involved in this are those with experience providing preventive maintenance in rural homes.
“After the rewiring works are completed, it will be certified by qualified inspectors,” he said, adding that the ministry will also team up with the Fire and Rescue Department to ensure the safety of tahfiz schools.