Local bodies enjoy enough powers, says Ghani

Responding to Dr Farooq Sattar’s demand of invoking the Article 140-A of the constitution to devolve powers to the local government in Karachi, Sindh Information Minister Saeed Ghani on Sunday said the local bodies in the province already have enough powers in accordance with the spirit of the constitution.

Speaking to The News, Ghani said the current local government law in place did not allow the devolution of all the powers to the local governments. He was of the view that it was not fair to demand the transfer of every financial, administrative and civic powers to the mayor as this was not possible under the Sindh Local Government Act 2013.

A day earlier on Saturday, Dr Sattar, estranged leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, while speaking at the Karachi International Conference at the Institute of Business Administration had called for invoking the Article 140-A of the constitution which reads: “Each Province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments.”

The Article 140-A needs to be interpreted by the Supreme Court, Dr Sattar said and added that elected representatives of Karachi have already approached the apex court for that. “This petition can pave the way for finally having a self-contained, autonomous and effective system of local government,” he remarked. “The Article 140-A is our rescuer.”

Commenting on Federal Law Minister Farogh Naseem’s bid of invoking the Article 149 (4) to help resolve the issues of Karachi, the former MQM-P convener said if that had happened, it would have brought the Centre and the province at loggerheads.