Centre allowed role in devolved ministries

The federal government will continue to oversee matters relating to foreign agreements.


Express June 29, 2010

The implementation commission on 18th constitutional amendment has decided to allow the federal government to continue to oversee matters relating to foreign agreements, funding and policies of ongoing projects of those ministries that are to be devolved to the provinces.

But this, the commission decided, would be a temporary arrangement till the devolution process is completed by the middle of next year.

Officials told The Express Tribune the commission in its Tuesday’s meeting discussed matters of ministries including health, education, culture, environment, food and agriculture, zakat and usher and their related departments.

They said that Establishment Division Secretary Ismail Qureshi presented a list of ministries and departments which would be transferred to the provinces.

He also gave a briefing to the commission about these departments and ministries. The commission has also decided that the responsibility of those ministries and departments would devolve to the provinces in which they have sufficient capacity and infrastructure.

Officials said the governments of Punjab, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa informed the commission that they had constituted special cells of top bureaucrats and experts to coordinate matters relating to devolution.

The commission, they added, decided to keep close contact with these cells. The commission will meet again on Thursday to review the rules of business to legalise devolution.

The commission has decided to hire four experts or technocrats relating to finance, law, administration and planning for smooth delegation of powers to the provinces. In this regard, the officials said, the implementation commission has sent a summary to the prime minister for approval.

The implementation commission has already directed the provinces to set up implementation cells (committees) for smooth devolution of powers from centre to federating units.

These committees would prepare strategy, mechanism and chalk out plan for transfer of ministries and departments to the provinces. He said transfer of ongoing projects and assets of ministries and departments also figured in the discussion.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2010.

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