Senate session: Flour price question stumps ministers

Ministers cagey about number of public units up for privatisation.


Iftikhar Firdous April 17, 2014
Ministers cagey about number of public units up for privatisation. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:


The government found itself in an awkward position during the continuing session of the senate on Wednesday, when it failed to satisfactorily answer for the number of Public Sector Enterprises to be privatized and its ministers were clueless as to the price of a kilogramme of flour. 


In Wednesday’s Question Hour, PPP Senator Salim H. Mandviwalla submitted a question to the minister of finance, revenue, economic affairs, statistics and privatization about the price of essential commodities. In a supplementary question, Mandviwalla asked if the minister could tell him the price of a kilogramme of flour. “I do not know the price of a kilogramme of flour as of today,” replied State Minister Balighur Rehman, speaking on behalf of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who was absent at the session. Deputy Chairman Senate Sabir Ali Baloch subsequently asked if any of the ministers present could answer Mandviwalla’s question. Balighur Rehman quipped that as he was appointed to his position in March, he knew the price of flour for that particular month. Ministers including Pervaiz Rashid, Kamran Michael, Sheikh Aftab, Zahid Hamid and Ahsan Iqbal were unable to provide an answer.

Senator Sughra Imam also asked the ministry of finance about a proposal under consideration to privatize public sector enterprises. The ministry replied that 32 entities have been identified for consideration; however, a list of the entities submitted contained the names of only 11 enterprises. Rehman said that he could name the remaining 21 organisations verbally. However, leader of the opposition Senator Aitzaz Ahsan remarked that the ministers did not seem prepared to answer questions and the government appeared to be hiding something.

Senator Raza Rabbani pointed out that the eleven named enterprises, including Pakistan International Airlines, Oil and Gas Development Company Limited, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Heavy Electrical Complex and others, were part of the Federal Legislature part two and so, no committee is authorized to privatize them; these entities fall within the purview of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and any such action required the consent of provinces, he said. The question was deferred after the opposition walked out of the session in protest.

Additionally, the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (Amendment) Bill 2014 was referred to the select committee after it was opposed by the opposition.

Safeguarding the parliament

There has been a systematic erosion of the parliament’s role in the last five years, according to PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar, spokesperson for Party Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, who spoke in the zero hour discussion in the senate on Wednesday. He said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the former president considered it necessary to work together with all political parties in order to strengthen parliament. Babar said the overturning the Speaker’s ruling, throwing out role of parliament in the appointment of judges, disqualifying an elected prime minister without reference to the election commission, overturning a law passed by the parliament, refusal to place accounts before the parliament and refusal to answer parliamentary questions were some of the instances of such erosion.

Proposing reforms, Babar said that the rule restricting discussions on any matter before the courts should be revisited. Article 68 of the Constitution restricts such discussion only to the extent of the personal conduct of a judge in the discharge of his duties and there should be no bar on discussing other issues without commenting on merits or demerits of any particular argument in a court. He added that there is a need for parliamentary debate on the exercise of suo motu powers with a view to develop a framework for its exercise.

Pointing out that the verdict on the 18th Amendment had not yet been announced during the past four years he called for a parliamentary debate on the court’s powers to review the constitutionality of laws.

Senator Babar also called for legislation on privilege motions to provide for action against any persons who refused to give evidence or produce documents or knowingly gives false evidence.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2014.

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