A Reuters file photo
During the meeting, chaired by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, the cabinet also made the decision to amend the Motor Vehicle Ordinance to install trackers in order to stop the theft of motorcycles. The appointment of the Sindh Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the rules of home-based workers were among other issues discussed in the meeting.
Briefing the cabinet about the wheat stock, food minister Hari Ram Kishori Lal and food secretary Laiq Ahmed requested the cabinet to set a procurement target and support price for the crop season.
The cabinet was informed that Sindh had a stock of 480 tonnes of wheat, while 400,000 tonnes have been procured from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (Passco). The CM said this showed that the food department had released 800,000 tonnes of wheat from its stocks this season, also exhausting the stock it procured from Passco. “The department will have no wheat stocks after the end of March to intervene in the market and stabilise prices,” he pointed out.
Food department officials told the meeting that it had a credit limit of Rs138 billion for procurement of the new crop, while it owed Rs77 billion to commercial banks. Shah directed them to work out a plan to retire the entire loan taken to procure wheat.
He also tasked the cabinet committee, comprising Lal, agriculture minister Ismail Rahoo and local government minister Syed Nasir Shah, to suggest a minimum wheat price for procurement of the new crop, as well as devise means to procure wheat from genuine farmers, particularly small ones, at better prices. The committee is to submit its report within 10 days.
Replacing the police chief
The replacement of Sindh IGP Dr Kaleem Imam was also discussed, with Shah informing cabinet members that the Prime Minister’s office had requested him to send two more names for the appointment of the new provincial police chief.
As a result, he nominated two more names in a letter sent to the Establishment Division on Wednesday, adding Sanaullah Abbasi and Inam Ghani to the earlier list that comprised Ghulam Qadir Thebo, Mushtaq Maher and Kamran Fazal. “Now, the Establishment Division has a panel of five officers and they will post one of them as the new IGP in the next two days,” he said.
Cabinet members claimed that Imam had carried out ‘character assassination’ of provincial ministers in a ‘deplorable’ manner. Later, talking to the media, Sindh Information and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani said that the Sindh government would inform the Centre that Imam was unfit to hold the position of an IGP anywhere in Pakistan.
Master plan authority
The local government minister and secretary presented a proposal for the establishment of a new authority, Sindh Urban and Regional Master Plan Authority, which would be the custodian of the master plans of Karachi and other cities, while also drawing up master plans for cities without one. The minister told the cabinet that the draft bill for this had been prepared and sent to the law department for vetting.
Approving the establishment of the authority, the cabinet directed them to present the draft rules in the next meeting.
Motorcycle trackers
Transport minister Awais Qadir Shah and secretary Abbas Thebo, meanwhile, presented an amendment in the Motor Vehicle Ordinance, 1965, pertaining to the operations of online transport services and the installation of trackers in motorcycles, among other changes.
Discussing the matter, the cabinet observed that manufacturers could install trackers in new motorcycles, but it may become costly in old motorcycles. Therefore, a committee was constituted to review the proposed amendment and submit recommendations in the next cabinet meeting.
Rules for legislation
The cabinet was also informed that the Sindh Prohibition of Employment of Children Act, 2017, which had been passed by the provincial assembly, now required rules in order to implement the law in letter and spirit.
“Under this law, no adolescent is supposed to work for more than six hours a day. The period of work on each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed three hours without an interval,” maintained labour secretary Rashid Solangi. The cabinet later approved the rules.
Moreover, while approving the rules for legislation on home-based workers, the cabinet constituted a council to identify home-based workers and develop data about them. “The council will keep an eye on their security and safety by determining their wages,” said Solangi, who will chair the council.
The cabinet further discussed the law passed by Sindh Assembly stripping the provincial governor of the power to appoint the province’s ombudsman. While the law was passed, the governor, expressing concerns about it, did not give his assent. The cabinet decided to move the bill in the assembly again.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2020.
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