Shafie chairing the meeting with district officers, yesterday.
KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Mohd Shafie bin Haji Apdal wants district officers to immediately implement development projects as the government had already disbursed funding to all districts.
He wants all district officers to move forward fast to ensure development from the projects could enable a multiplier effect.
“Unfortunately, implementation has been very slow,” he said at a meeting when addressing all district officers from Sabah at the Sabah Government Administrative Centre here, yesterday.
He stressed upon them the importance of administering and managing their areas of jurisdiction more systematically for the well-being of the people.
He pointed out that in most districts in Sabah, the planning was so haphazard that at times, houses of worship, car workshops and restaurants could be found located next to each other.
” Zoning of areas are not implemented according to plan. Schools are built in locations already zoned for industrial purposes. Some years later, the school has to be relocated to suddenly make way for an industrial park. This is not only inconvenient but can cost huge amounts of money…all because of bad planning,” he said.
Shafie also stressed on maintaining standards and quality of work, particularly in ensuring development projects not only would reach the target groups but would also benefit them too.
“Execute your responsibilities well and serve the people of Sabah,” he added.
He urged them to get to know their districts well by constantly going down to the ground to identify what is lacking in infrastructure and any social issues in order to establish priorities.
“Find out what are the real problems in your districts. Places such as Lahad Datu where security is of the utmost concern, the district officer must make security the top priority among others.”
He reminded them to be resourceful in finding solutions to problems that affect the well-being of the people and to provide regular feedback on the progress of projects in their districts.