New parliament lodges' coffee shop opens next month

Senate panel directs contractors to provide letters verifying sanitary workers

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers in a senate panel on Wednesday were told that contract for setting up a coffee shop has been awarded and that the café is expected to open next month.

This was disclosed during a meeting of the Senate Committee of the House in the Parliament House on Wednesday.

Chaired by Senator Mir Yousaf Badini, the committee at the outset of its meeting was told that the Islamabad Police had completed the verification of all sanitary workers from Islamabad who were working at the Parliament Lodges.  However, the provinces have yet to respond about the workers from there.

At this, Senator Badini said that their verification should be ensured through a letter from the contractor through which the workers had been hired.

The committee also reviewed progress on the recommendations it made during its last meeting on September 20.

Discussing the provision of an ambulance to the lodges, the committee was told that owing to the incumbent Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) austerity measure, there was a blanket ban on purchasing new vehicles. However, officials said that the matter has been raised with the austerity committee to grant an exemption as the finance ministry had no objection on purchasing an ambulance.

The committee was told that matter is now expected to proceed as per the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) rules once the austerity committee approves the purchase.

Reviewing the project concept-I (PC-1) on developing a fire safety plan, officials said that following directions of the committee, funds to the tune of Rs120 million have been transferred for the project.

The committee members further inquired about delays in the tendering process for setting up a laundry and a salon in the lodges. To this, the committee was told that action has been taken against the officials responsible. The coffee shop in the lodges is expected to open on November 15.

Reviewing issues about dysfunctional elevators in the Parliament Lodges, lawmakers were told that three companies have expressed their interest in installing new elevators and that the tenders as per PPRA rules are expected to be awarded soon.

Regarding the construction of additional blocks in the lodges, officials said that the contract with Ali Associates and Consultants was in the process of being terminated and that a new consultant will be hired soon to build the new blocks.

Badini advised that all issues with the old contractor should be resolved amicably otherwise the project will remain incomplete for another 15 years.

Senator Sameena Saeed complained about the poor performance of janitorial staff at the lodges. However, she was quick to clarify that workers should not be sacked. Furthermore, she said that workers must be paid as per the number of hours they work, noting that most workers were paid equivalent to eight-hour shifts even though each shift lasted 12-hours.

Saeed, however, went on to suggest that a new company should be hired for janitorial services.

The meeting was attended by Badini, Saeed, Senator Kalsoom Perveen, Senator Sardar Shafiq Tareen, Cabinet Division secretary, Capital Development Authority (CDA) Joint Secretary, CDA Member Engineering, CDA Works director general and other related officials.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2019.