Dispute resolved: Commissioners no more in control of municipal bodies

Coalition partners decide to give back powers to administrators.

KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to withdraw the administrative and financial powers given to commissioners and deputy commissioners, bringing an end to an on-going cold war between officers of district management cadre and those belonging to local government services. They have been returned to municipal administrators.

This was decided at a meeting of the core committee on Saturday evening attended by the representatives of the ruling coalition of Pakistan Peoples Party, Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Pakistan Muslim League-F.

Sources told The Express Tribune that everyone who attended the meeting was of the view that there was no need to empower commissioners and deputy commissioners when it came to municipal affairs. They recommended the chief minister withdraw the orders.

This had created an internal conflict between the chief minister and the provincial local government minister who had taken up the issue with the president.

Talking to The Express Tribune, PML-F leader Imtiaz Shaikh said that it was not legally viable to transfer the powers from administrators to commissioners.

He said that another meeting of the coalition partners will be held on Tuesday to discuss the response of the Sindh government to be submitted before the Supreme Court on the much-delayed local body election. The government and its coalition partners would discuss a strategy before appearing at the apex court on April 30.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2012.