KARACHI: In a surprise move, the Sindh cabinet has unanimously approved to repeal the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999 to the extent of its applicability to the province of Sindh and decided to introduce the proposed amendment in the ordinance in the provincial assembly to get it approved.
This decision was taken in the meeting held under the chairmanship of Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah here at the CM House on Friday. The provincial ministers, Chief Secretary Rizwan Memon, advisers and special assistants to the chief minister and concerned provincial govt secretaries attended the meeting. Later, it was learnt that the session of the Sindh Assembly had been summoned on the coming Monday (03 July, 2017) at 3pm at the Sindh Assembly building to present in the assembly the provincial government’s bill to repeal the applicability of National Accountability Ordinance in the province of Sindh. At a later stage, the provincial govt is likely to move a bill in the Sindh Assembly to establish a provincial accountability authority much on the lines of the one already existing in Khyber Pajhtunkhwa.
Meanwhile, the cabinet discussed the agenda, which includes the anti-corruption laws, ban on sugar mills, K-IV water supply project, cabinet decision, resolution passed by the provincial assembly regarding power loadshedding.
The cabinet was informed that the National Accountability Ordinance, 1999, enacted in pursuance of the proclamation of emergency order of October 14, 1999 and Provincial Constitutional Order of October (PCO) 1999 was also made applicable to the provinces and was subsequently included in Schedule VI of the Constitution along with Local Government Ordinance 2001 and Police Order 2002 in order to prevent the provinces from repealing or amending the laws.
The cabinet was told that the proclamation of emergency of October 14, 1999 and PCO were declared to have been made without lawful authority by parliament and the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution was omitted under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.
The meeting was told that the Federation legislated on three subjects, “Local Government; Public Order & Police and Measures to combat Corruption” and offences with respect to provincial subjects” under the unlawful declaration of emergency while the provinces had already repealed or amended the Local Government Ordinance 2001 and Police Order 2002.
The meeting was told that emergency legislation on any provincial subject by parliament ceases to have any effect after six months of lifting of emergency under Article 232(5) and 234(6) of the Constitution. Moreover, measures to combat corruption being a concurrent subject in the Constitution of 1956 have now been exclusively vested in the provinces not being mentioned in federal legislative list of the Constitution and the executive and legislative authority of the province fully extended to the offences with respect to provincial subjects.
Under the entry 55 of the Federal Legislative List Part-I of the Constitution, the federal government could establish courts on the matters enumerated only in the Federal Legislative List and the subjects of anti-corruption or offences with respect to provincial subjects are not mentioned in the said list. So establishing any such courts as provided under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and extending their jurisdiction and powers to the provinces neither was nor is consonance with the Constitution and amounts to exercising the executive authority in the province by an authority or government other than the lawfully elected provincial government, the cabinet was briefed.
The cabinet was briefed that under the Constitution, the provincial assembly is competent to repeal the relevant laws enacted by parliament to the extent of the province of Sindh or they simply cease to have effect after six months of lifting of emergency respectively.
In the light of briefing given to the cabinet by Law Minister Zialul Hassan Lanjar and Advocate General Zamir Ghumro, it was unanimously decided to repeal the National Accountability Ordinance 1999 and present the draft bill in the assembly.
Later, talking to newsmen after the cabinet meeting, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that Sindh had already repealed two laws pertaining to the era of former military ruler Pervez Musharraf while now it had been decided to render ineffective the NAB ordinance in the province and for the purpose, the provincial cabinet had approved the amendments in the law. He said that NAB law was the black law of the Musharraf era.
The Sindh law minister said on the occasion that the new law for establishing provincial level accountability authority would be presented in the Sindh Assembly within 30 days for which the draft bill had been prepared.
The cabinet was told that there were a large number of sugar mills in the province, therefore, no more NOC or permission may be accorded to install any new sugar mills in the province.
It was pointed out that due to installation of more sugar mills, cotton growers are continuously switching over to sugarcane crop. This not only disturbs historical cropping pattern but affects the textile industry of the country.
Local Government Minister Jam Khan Shoro, briefing the cabinet on K-IV Greater Karachi water supply project, said that it was a Rs24.7 billion project, including Rs15.2 billion package-A and Rs9.5 billion Package-B. He added that the package A is for civil work i.e. construction of canals, siphons and conduits while Package B is for mechanical works such as procurement of machinery and filter plants, etc.
Shoro told the cabinet that the work on Package A is being carried out by the Frontier Works Organization while the agreement for Package B was yet to be signed. He added that the cost of the Package B had escalated by Rs3.8 billion for which he needed the approval of the cabinet.
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah said that the the escalation cost of the project of Package-B was within 15 per cent, which is permissible as per ENCEC rules. He added that he would talk to the federal government to share the financial burden.
The cabinet was told that the tenure of a govt officer cannot be included in the Rules of Business but it is in the rules of business of the provincial government. It is given in the Sindh Civil Servants Act, Section-4. The transfer and posting of a civil servant is the prerogative of the provincial government.
The chief minister constituted a committee under the minister of law to examine the proposed amendment and present it in the next meeting. The proposed amendment would be aimed at annulling the present system where a senior govt officer could remain present at a particular post for a tenure of three years while it would be the discretion of the government to decide the tenure of such an officer.
Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that the Sindh Assembly’s resolution was regarding provision of tariff differential support to captive power plants in Sindh. He said that industrial, commercial and residential consumers of electricity are suffering due to an acute power shortage. Therefore, “his government wants to take some urgent steps to alleviate such sufferings of people of Sindh”.
He said that new captive power plants had been lying idle due to the decision of NEPRA to fix tariff for such plants which made them economically non-viable. He added that it was expedient to provide tariff differential support to owners of such captive power plants, in order to incentivize them to operate their idle power plants to increase the available electrical energy in Sindh, thereby alleviating the sufferings of the consumers in Sindh. The cabinet approved the proposal and recommended to present the draft bill in the next session of assembly.