Lahore, May 29, 2015: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Director for Punjab Province Dr. Miles Toder spoke at a conference in Lahore attended by more than 150 experts, academics and public sector representatives to discuss ‘Ethical Leadership: Implementation in the Public Sector.” The Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) organized the conference under the USAID-funded Center for Governance and Public Management (CGPM). Dr. Toder recognized LUMS for achieving the milestones of training a large number of managers, placing students in internships, and conducted applied research conducted and developed distance learning programs -- all toward building a culture of accountability and excellence in public service.

He also discussed the perennial challenges associated with waste, fraud and abuse in the U.S. public sector; the value of ethics training and compliance; and the importance of accountability mechanisms, i.e., legislative oversight, whistle blowers reporting inappropriate behavior, auditors who oversee finances and assess performance and investigators to collect facts for possible criminal prosecution. The two-day conference that concluded today featured discussions on good governance and leadership, transparency and accountability, and ethical leadership challenges. In his opening remarks, Chief of Party of Center for Governance and Public Management CGPM Dr. Zafar Iqbal Qureshi highlighted achievements of the Center and acknowledged USAID’s support in setting up the Center. Panelists included prominent international and Pakistani experts Dr. James W. Douglas, Professor, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Dr. Ishrat Husain, Dean and Director of the Institute of Business Administration, Karachi; Ali Hussain Malik; Additional Secretary Planning and Development, Government of Punjab; Yaqoob Bangash, Assistant Professor, Forman Christian College, Lahore; Dr. Saeed Shafqat, Director, Centre for Public Policy and Governance, Forman Christian College; Dr. Ali Qazilbash, Assistant Professor, LUMS; Dr. David N. Ammons, Professor of Public Administration and Government, University of North Carolina; Dr. Umar Saif, Chairman Punjab Information Technology Board, Founding Vice Chancellor, Information Technology University, Punjab; Dr. Kendra B. Stewart, Professor and Director, Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston; Dr. Aneela Salman, Managing Director, Punjab Education Foundation and others. Addressing the participants, Vice Chancellor LUMS Dr. Sohail Naqvi stressed the importance of capacity building of the public sector for a prosperous and progressive Pakistan. The Center for Governance and Public Management works to develop the capacity of Pakistani civil society organizations (CSOs) and the Government of Pakistan (GOP) organizations to make them more transparent and accountable. The Center for Governance and Public Management aims to serve as a training, research and policy center for the public sector of Pakistan.