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WEEKLY
SECTIONS |
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| Ordinances and parliament |
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Tuesday, November 24, 2009
As we approach the November 28 deadline set by the Supreme Court, after which 37 ordinances promulgated by former president Pervez Musharraf may lapse, the federal law minister has said some of them will be re-promulgated. This comes from a government that has spoken on more than one occasion about the supremacy of parliament. The SC had sought parliamentary sanction for the ordinances that representatives believed should be made into law, rather than further use of presidential ordinances. At least 31 of the 37 ordinances had been placed before the National Assembly. None was approved – or rejected. Most failed to move beyond the committee stage. Parliament, an institution on which large sums of public money are spent annually, needs to be effective. If it is not, questions will inevitably arise as to why it exists in the first place. Our representatives have a special duty to strengthen democracy by demonstrating that they are capable of performing their function with responsibility and interest.
The government has set aside some controversial measures of the Musharraf era, including ordinances limiting media freedoms. But there are others that need to be retained, such as those that set up the Earthquake Relief and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), the NADRA ordinance and that putting in place the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP). Despite alleged irregularities, ERRA remains involved with various projects in the quake-hit areas. The projects need to be completed without disruption. The same holds true for NADRA. The suspicions that powerful cartels are lobbying for the demise of the CCP so that they can push up prices without hindrance makes it all the more imperative that the government act in the interests of ordinary people by protecting this body. Other ordinances and their impact require discussion and debate. It is unfortunate that this has not happened. The failure to generate such debate in the National Assembly and bring a vote on these issues only adds to the perceptions of the government's ineffectiveness and inability to keep the wheels of state running smoothly along.
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ISSN 1563-9479 
