PHOTO: FILE
Of the 3,700 questions submitted in the Sindh Assembly in the past one year, lawmakers have received answers to hardly 378. The performance report, available with The Express Tribune, reveals that some of the most vital departments such as the home department, human rights, food, land utilisation, services, general administration and coordination, anti-corruption, social welfare, planning and development and even sports and youth affairs have yet to respond to a single query.
Law and order
With the deteriorating law and order situation, especially given the rise in incidents of kidnapping for ransom has once again made headlines in the province, the home department's poor performance on the assembly floor has dismayed many members. "Every other day, we witness grave violations of human rights," remarked Grand Democratic Alliance MPA Arif Mustafa Jatoi. "From rape cases to forced conversions, many incidents have occurred in the last one year. We have asked dozens of questions relating to the relevant ministries, but unfortunately, not a single answer has been given," he added.
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The breakup
According to the report, the agriculture department has given 11 answers. So has the Aufaq and Zakat department. Meanwhile, the education department has answered 20 questions, health and population welfare 35, energy 30, environment and climate change four, industry and commerce five, science and technology four, excise and taxation 20, revenue and relief 16, transport and mass transit eight, women's development 10, works and services five, fisheries and livestock 20, culture and tourism and antiquities 21 and Katchi Abadis, five.
"This shows how sincere the government is to the accountability process," observed Jatoi. "It seems the key government departments, which are well known for corruption and being investigated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) have not given answers to our questions," he added.
The rules
According to the rules, members of the provincial assembly have to submit questions and it is the duty of the relevant ministry to answer them.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, the Sindh Assembly secretary, GM Umer Farooq, said that soon after receiving the members' questions, his secretariat sends the same to the relevant departments, which delay in giving submitting the answers. "Our job is to correct the spelling and grammar of the question and ask the department to respond. There is no specific time or deadline mentioned in the rules to submit the answers" he said.
During the assembly session, an hour is allocated to put up questions to a particular department. The member, who submits the question, asks three supplementary queries followed by five questions from other MPAs sitting on the treasury and opposition benches. "This is an important part of the assembly proceedings, but the government has shows lukewarm response. This should not happen," said a Pakistan Peoples Party MPA, who requested not to be named. "I have also submitted around 100 questions, but hardly 10 of them have been answered so far," she said.
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Thursday's session
Meanwhile on Thursday, the Sindh Assembly witnessed a ruckus again, after the opposition and treasury members came head-to-head and made personal attacks, criticising each other. One accused the other of being the "land mafia." Another blamed their opponent for "protecting dacoits and criminals."
The dispute arose when the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's parliamentary leader, Haleem Adil Sheikh, moved a call-attention notice about the kidnaping for ransom incidents in Shikarpur district. "Around 40 people have been killed in the last two months in Shikarpur. We have no home minister in the province and the charge is with chief minister who is already preoccupied with other things. I request to please appoint a full-fledged home minister in the province," he said.
In response, the minister for parliamentary affairs, Mukesh Chawla and PPP MPA Ghulam Qadir Chandio stood up and criticised Shaikh. "Speaker Sahib, the situation is not as bad as Sheikh is making it out to be. He himself is the land mafia," said Chawla.
This irked the opposition members, who protested against the remarks. Earlier, the opposition MPAs criticised provincial minister for industries, Ikramullah Dharejo, for failing to give a few answers relating to his department.
On the other hand, the debate on law and order was on the agenda, but it could not be discussed. The speaker adjourned the session till today [Friday], announcing to allocate time for a debate on the "rising menace of street crime and law and order situation of the province."
Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2019.
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