Cabinet members told to seek permission before inaugurating development projects

The Sindh government has directed members of the caretaker provincial cabinet to first seek permission from the office of the chief secretary before inaugurating development projects, particularly those which were completed during the tenure of previous Pakistan Peoples Party government.

The directives have been issued in view of the general governance norm that members of the caretaker set-up are not supposed to take any major initiative or inaugurate any big development scheme.

A circular issued by the Department of Services, General Administration & Coordination (SGA&C) of the Sindh government contained the directives. The communiqué has been sent to the chairman of the Planning and Development Board, senior member Board of Revenue, the principal secretaries to the Sindh governor and chief minister, administrative secretaries of all Sindh government departments and to all divisional commissioners posted in Sindh.

Sent by the Section Officer (C-II) of the SGA&C department, the circular terms it “appropriate” that certain projects completed by the previous government were being inaugurated by functionaries of the interim government when the interim set-up cannot take any such steps.

It further states that if any interim government member is asked to inaugurate a project, they should consult with the respective division commissioner and seek approval from the chief secretary’s office before scheduling.