According to a Chief Minister House spokesman, all the provincial ministers and department secretaries have also been ordered to be present at the meeting.
These orders are a bit ironic, since about a year ago, it was announced that the Sindh cabinet will meet every month. But it didn’t happen. The next meeting in Jacobabad will be held after a gap of around three months.
Expenditure on travel, lodgings and security do not seem to pose any hindrance to this plan. When the Chief Minister House spokesperson was asked about the financial strain it will put on the national exchequer, The Express Tribune was told that the government ‘will manage funds for it’.
The cabinet meetings will be routine. The only thing special about them, besides the new venue each time, will be the focus on the development work and the law-and-order situation of the district hosting the cabinet meeting. “This will also provide the ministers an opportunity to visit the districts and interact with the people directly,” said the spokesman.
However, sources privy to the matter have told The Express Tribune that the decision was made on the directives of the co-chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), President Asif Ali Zardari. He ordered the cabinet members and the chief minister to solve people’s problems before the upcoming elections.
Arif Mustafa Jatoi of National Peoples Party (NPP) lauded the government’s efforts. “Technically the cabinet should meet every 10 days but this doesn’t happen,” he said. “The cabinet meets after every two to three months which is a violation of the rules.” Jatoi said that his father, Ghulam Musfata Jatoi, had set the precedent of holding cabinet meetings at district levels when he was the chief minister of Sindh.
Meanwhile the coalition partners have also welcomed this move. Haleem Adil Shaikh, chief minister’s adviser on relief, said that district-level meetings will help focus the government’s attention on the problems being faced by the people and will pave the way to resolve them. Sindh Minister for Environment Sheikh Muhammad Afzal, alias Khalid Umer, of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, also lauded the decision.
However, the opposition members look at the matter from a different perspective. Razzaque Rahimoon of Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid said that since the elections are close, the government is trying to give the impression that it is an activity intended for resolving the peoples’ problems. “This is yet another drama being staged by the government to fool the people for elections.”
Referring to development work, he said that Tharparkar district was the most neglected area in the province. “Not a single new development scheme was launched by the PPP during its four years,” he said. “If the government is really serious in helping the people then I urge them to begin from Thar.”
Imtiaz Shaikh, adviser to CM on special education said that no tangible result will come out by only holding the cabinet meetings, but there is need to implement the decisions. “I think it will be a burden on the district government. How will they make arrangement for the cabinet members and bureaucrats. There will be issue of the resources as well,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2012.
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