According to a press release issued by the Ehtesab Commission, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Act, 2016, passed by the present Government has enabled it to carry out the activities in full swing. PHOTO: FILE
Bureaucrats voiced their concerns in a meeting of the secretaries’ committee held on August 29 under the chairmanship of the chief secretary. These apprehensions came at a time when the Ehtesab Commission was rampantly arresting civil servants.
Officials informed The Express Tribune the K-P Establishment Department moved a summary of recommendations following the meeting and these were based on “objectionable” points highlighted in their moot. The document was forwarded to the chief minister.
“The summary contained a page signed by representatives of all associations of K-P’s civil servants, including the Provincial Management Services Association, Pakistan Administrative Services, Secretariat Employees Association, Clerks association, Class-IV employees and the Drivers Association,” an official privy to the development said.
According to the meeting’s minutes, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, the establishment secretary gave a presentation about amendments in the law, along with the reservations of various civil services associations.
The K-P government amended the act in February by promulgating an ordinance, reining in the powers of the Ehtesab Commission’s director general and increasing the power of the four commissioners and the chief commissioner. The ordinance actually led to the resignation of the commission’s first director general, Lieutenant General (retd) Hamid Khan.
The current law effectively gives the DG a free hand, much like the original legislation in 2014. The bureaucrats advocated an oversight of the commission over the DG.
The officials said they were not against accountability, but it should not be arbitrary and under the commission’s oversight.
Furthermore, they had reservations over the qualification criteria defined in the current law for the DG. The secretary for law objected to the appointment of a high court judge as the DG due to his or her lack of enquiry/investigation-related experience.
He recommended a retired bureaucrat to be appointed as the DG along the same lines as the head of the National Accountability Bureau.
The official was of the view that the earlier law, enacted in 2014, was in raw form and it created controversies. While the ordinance repaired all the flaws in the law, the government did not turn it into an act so it lapsed.
The bureaucrats are also unhappy with the changes made in the bill of the act when it came out of the select committee. The official added that the commission’s powers were curbed by the K-P Assembly select committee, making the DG of the directorate more powerful and almost untouchable. This was much like the original version of the law.
The official informed that the commissioners and Chief Ehtesab Commissioner were also unhappy over their powerlessness and they approached the chief minister over the matter. The senior member board of revenue said in the meeting that in the present form of the law, the commissioners are virtually toothless. However, the DG must seek permission from commissioners before initiating an enquiry, investigation, prosecution and arrest.
Meanwhile, the secretary for information objected over a media trial in the name of accountability. The secretaries for labour and administration pointed towards the necessary interference of EC.
The committee member concluded that the new amendments in the law would increase harassment of civil servants and called for its review on war footings. It said that the commission should be empowered to get an effective check on the DG, while, the slot of the DG should be open for civil servants.
According to a press release issued by the Ehtesab Commission, The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission (Amendment) Act, 2016, passed by the present Government has enabled it to carry out the activities in full swing.
“In the last few days, the EC has made certain arrests on the charges of corruption and corrupt practices,” the statement read. “The EC is working independently without any pressure interference from any quarter, which is the distinct feature of this prime anti-corruption institution in the province. The commission reiterates to work independently to achieve the purpose of eradication of corruption, implementation of charter of good governance, promotion of social justice for the social and economic wellbeing of the citizens in the province.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2016.
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