‘Management and operations agreement’: Sindh requests Centre to let it run JPMC, NICVD, NICH

KARACHI: The Sindh government has formally requested the Centre to withdraw its notification regarding the formation of a Board of Governors (BoG) to run the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), saying the notification is contrary to the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s judgment, and offered to manage and operate the JPMC, NICVD and NICH through a “Management and Operations Agreement” with the federal government.

In a letter to Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said the notification by the National Health Service regarding the formation of BoG to run the JPMC would adversely affect the day-to-day running of the JPMC and other two hospitals and offered the SAPM that the Sindh government could run these facilities.

The National Health Services had started the process of taking over three hospitals of Karachi by creating a Board of Governors for the JPMC last week, which irked the Sindh government and the Sindh CM had said on Monday they would urge the prime minister to look into this matter and let the province run these facilities. “I am writing with reference to the decision of the federal cabinet on your ministry’s own summary dated 17.06.2019 for transfer of the Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore, as well as JPMC, NICVD and NICH from the provinces to the federal government,” Dr Azra Pechuho wrote in her letter to SAPM Dr Faisal Sultan. Referring to the federal cabinet’s decision, she said the cabinet had itself decided “in principle” to hand over these hospitals to respective provincial governments with their mutual consent.

“A report in this regard, with full justification, including current financial constraints of the federal government, will be submitted by National Health Services Regulation Division before the Supreme Court in order to avoid any adverse order of the Honourable Court,” she said while quoting the cabinet’s summary.

The provincial health minister maintained that in pursuance of the decision of the federal cabinet, Dr Zafar Mirza, the then SAPM on Health, sent a letter to Anwar Mansoor Khan, the-then Attorney General of Pakistan, wherein he has informed him about the decision of the federal cabinet and requested for the implementation of the same.

She maintained that in his letter, the-then SAPM also shared the recommendations of the committee constituted in pursuance of the decision of the federal cabinet taken in its meeting held on 28th May, 2019. One of the recommendations of the committee was: “Federal Government can have a management contract with provincial governments on mutually agreed terms encompassing all financial and governance related aspects ensuring efficiency, accountability and transparency.”

“In support of the above-mentioned recommendation of the committee, I also take this opportunity to refer you to the Paragraph 05 of the short order reproduced in the Paragraph 35 of the Supreme Court’s Judgment, dated: 07.01.2019 which states that: “This judgment, however, does not in any way obstruct, deny or curtail the power of the Federal Government to transfer any project, works, lands or buildings owned and controlled by it to any of the provinces. However, such transfer must be undertaken in accordance with law, through a legal instrument specifying the terms and conditions on the basis of which such transfer is to take place and the nature and duration of such transfer.”

Dr Azra further said that without prejudice to the ownership of the property of these institutions which includes land, infrastructure and equipment, judgment of Honourable Supreme Court of Pakistan does not bar the federal government and the provincial government from entering into a “Management and Operations Agreement” to enable the provincial government to manage and operate these three institutions.

It is informed that so far Sindh has incurred approximately Rs100 billion on these three hospitals since the handover in 2011. The federal government has not intimated the provincial government regarding the reimbursement of the expenditures as yet and as per the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the above referred institutions shall continue to be managed and maintained by the Sindh government in all respects, she added.

According to her, contrary to the judgment of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination has constituted a “Board of Governors” in respect of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Karachi.

“The said notification is issued in violation of judgment of Supreme Court of Pakistan as the compliance of the sub-paragraphs (iv) to (viii) of the judgement has not been done as yet,” she added.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of three major government-run hospitals in Karachi did carry the provision that the federal government could give their control to the province to manage them.

The CM stated this while responding to the queries of media persons as he, along with Sindh Governor Imran Ismail and his cabinet colleagues, visited the Mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah on Tuesday.

The CM said that he was going to request to the federal government to let his government continue to run these hospitals in view of this provision in the court’s judgment in the best interest of the people and service delivery by these health care institutions.

He said that he had put forth the same view of his government during his past meetings with the prime minister that his government was well capable of running these hospitals. He said the PM had also acknowledged that the province had been running these hospitals in Karachi very well. He said the formation of a board of governors by the federal government to run these hospitals in Karachi clearly negated the judgment of the Supreme Court in this case.

Sindh Governor Imran Ismail said on the occasion that the Sindh CM had mentioned that the province was empowered to run these hospitals as one could differ from the viewpoint of the CM on this issue. He said the federal government had formed a very good board of governors to run these hospitals.