Five years since devolution : Fate of CADD bodies in limbo

Division has been strengthened with appointment of Tariq Fazal as minister of state

ISLAMABAD: The devolution in 2010 was supposed to ease the burden of delivery of services in favour of provinces but even after passage of five years, various matters remain unresolved at the level of a number of ministries and divisions in the capital.

The federal government has yet to decide the fate of departments attached to the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) which has resulted in overlap of functions and waste of finances.

The Establishment Division (ED) Secretary, Nadeem Asif on November 24 chaired a meeting of a sub-committee that looked into the issue of presence of redundant organisations.

The committee discussed 20 agenda times, of which eight were regarding the CADD.

The division has been further strengthened with the appointment of Tariq Fazal Chaudhary as state minister for CADD.

Nevertheless, several CADD bodies are redundant and continue to be a burden on the performance of the division.

Of the eight bodies discussed in the meeting included the Technical Penal on Teachers Education (TPTE).

According to the minutes of the meeting, the participants agreed that there was no justification for continuation of the body.

The CADD Joint Secretary (Administration), Junaid Akhlaq agreed that there was an overlap of functions of the TPTE with the Federal College of Education.  The members of the meeting had unanimously agreed to abolish TPTE.

The CADD Secretary, Khalid Hanif told The Express Tribune that they planned to merge TPTE into “another body” soon.

Similarly, the Directorate of Workers Education (DWE) is another body left with CADD that was formed to create awareness on social issues among workers and trade unions of the capital.

Since, devolution the directorate’s role has become redundant.

The members, during the meeting suggested that the DWE might be restructured and its administrative control be transferred to the ICT Administration.

About the status of National Trust for Disabled, another body functioning under the CADD, Akhlaq remarked that the merger of former and some other bodies was under process.

“The case has been referred to the Ministry of Law and Justice for advice on its legal implications,” he added.

The CADD secretary, when asked about the recommendation made for abolishing the National Council for Rehabilitation of Disabled persons (NCRDP) at the meeting, said that a draft was ready to merge the council with another government body.

Similarly, the Directorate of Special Education established to facilitate, prepare and execute policies and plans for education and training of persons with disabilities, is one of the bodies that lies under the administrative control of the CADD. The fate of the body remains unresolved.

After devolution, 46 of the 58 special education centres that were administered by the directorate were devolved or transferred to the provinces along with the employees.

Likewise, National Council of Social Welfare was formed as an advisory body to the federal government on matters of social welfare for providing financial and technical assistance to registered NGOs.

The council’s role has also shrunk to the capital after the 18th Amendment, and plans are afoot to restructure it.

The Department of Tourist Services is also lying dormant since devolution, while the National Institute of Science and Technical Education (NISTE) has yet to be made fully functional, though the government has decided to convert it into “National Skills University” at the national level.

When asked, the CADD secretary said that the delay in deciding upon the fate of the various bodies was due to a number of official engagements.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th,  2015.