K-P Ehtesab Commission Act 2014: Ehtesab DG fears changes in law will derail accountability

PESHAWAR:

The war of words between the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission and the Chief Minister House kicked off on Saturday as both sides had conflicting views about the proposed amendments to legislation governing the accountability body.

While the director general of the commission told the CM in a letter that the credibility of the accountability process would questioned if amendments to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act 2014 went ahead, the CM House failed to see the mention of any clause or law that would undermine the authority.

The DG’s letter was also sent to PTI Chairman Imran Khan and it urged the government to reconsider the amendments.

A copy of the document was also available with The Express Tribune.

KPEC DG Lt General (Retd) Mohammad Hamid Khan, while expressing his reservations over the amendments, said the commission was created to ensure better governance in the province by curbing corruption in public service delivery.

The letter stated that the commission conducted 90 enquiries, 43 investigations and 13 references in less than two years against ministers and bureaucrats. He said the cases were being processed in different courts, but efforts to weaken the authority of the commission would hamper enquiries and raise concerns about the intent of the PTI government.

He said as the commission was actively pursuing enquiries on alleged corruption by ministers and bureaucrats, the proposed amendments would undermine the principle of an independent and transparent accountability process. The letter was sent on February 4, 2016.

A senior official of the Ehtesab Commission alleged the amendments were politically motivated. The official pointed out the consent of the K-P assembly speaker would be required to apprehend an MPA and the same would apply to a bureaucrat who could only be pursued after approval from the provincial chief secretary.

“How can five members of a commission have the same opinion about one person who needs to be arrested when they were not even aware of the background of the cases?” he asked. Expressing his utter dismay, the official said the proposed amendments were not signed for implementation as yet. However, if they are, there would be serious doubts about the role of the commissions and the people involved, he stressed.

The government formed a committee of the K-P cabinet headed by Senior Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan. The officials were tasked with streamlining the commissions’ workings by making changes in the act.

The need to amend the law arose when the government felt the working of the commission was affecting the daily functionality of government offices as official records were taken into custody for enquiries and investigations.

In reply to the letter, the CM said no specific clause or act was mentioned which jeopardised the authority or functionality of the Ehtesab Commission. It further stated that if the commission had any reservations, it should forward them to the provincial government for legal considerations.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2016.