City administrator returns to office to clip DCO’s wings

Fazlur Rehman restricts DCO Muhammad Hussein Syed from taking any big decisions without his permission.

KARACHI: City Administrator Fazlur Rehman has restricted District Coordination Officer (DCO) Muhammad Hussein Syed from taking any big decisions without prior permission from him.

The order has curtailed the DCO’s financial powers for any amount exceeding Rs200,000.

The order has opened a debate whether similar limitations would be imposed on executive district officers (EDO), district officers (DO), executive directors and deputy district officers of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), who enjoy much greater discretion in terms of financial decision-making.

“The DDO’s financial powers are for millions but the DCO can’t sanction even Rs200,000,” commented an EDO. “It would now kick off a tug of war between the two senior bureaucrats.”

Some key officers of the CDGK have also tactfully maneuvered to show their loyalty to the DCO or, in some cases, the city administrator.

A CDGK spokesman told The Express Tribune that the administrator could not restrict the DCO from exercising his financial, legal and constitutional rights and powers. “The city administrator can’t go beyond the Sindh Local Government Ordinance-2001 (SLGO-2001), which also defines his limits,” he said.The administrator, who had been hospitalised for around a month, resumed duty on Saturday. The DO for Coordination, Syed Mukarram Sultan Bukhari, issued an office order DO(C)/CDGK/2011/138 to that effect.

Administrator Fazlur Rehman, who is a grade 20 officer from the district management group, soon after resuming office, issued his first official order of 2011, No Administrator/City/Secy/17/201, which drastically reduced the financial powers of the DCO. The order states that in exercise of the powers conferred upon the City Administrator under sections 18 and 20 of the SLGO-2001, he has issued directives to ensure strict financial discipline and help check expenditures in the CDGK with immediate effect.

According to the administrator’s orders, the DCO has been given the follow directions: Any cheque above Rs200,000 shall be countersigned by the administrator; All sanction exceeding Rs200,000 shall be obtained from the administrator; The approval and sanction of all development schemes and projects shall be sought from the administrator; All releases by the Government of Pakistan and the Government of Sindh including the CDGK and the Annual Development Programme (ADP) shall be signed and issued by the administrator; and medical bills exceeding Rs30,000 shall be submitted for approval from the administrator.

The DCO told The Express Tribune that he would be able to comment on the situation on Saturday, once he has read through the order.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2011.