Sharp differences over devolution of seven ministries

The cabinet was reportedly divided over the devolution of seven ministries to provinces from July 1, 2011 under the 18th amendment, revealed official documents made available to Business Recorder.
The government on Thursday issued notification regarding transfer of seven ministries, ie Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Manpower, Ministry of Minorities Affairs, Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Women Development to the provinces.
The cabinet meeting also decided to observe July 1, 2011 as 'Provincial Autonomy Day'. "Some members of the cabinet expressed their apprehensions on the devolution process and raised doubts on the capability and capacity of the provinces to handle the gigantic task bestowed upon them in the form of functions of 17 ministries hitherto being looked after the federal government," the documents added. Some ministers expressed reservations saying that the employees of the federal government might lose jobs after their transfer to the provinces.
According to the documents, Chairman Implementation Commission Raza Rabbani, however, responded to the apprehensions of the cabinet members and observed that the transfer of authority from the federation to the provinces would ensure the supremacy of the Constitution.
Rabbani informed that all the employees, who were affected in the first and second phases of devolution, had already been accommodated and a small number of employees, who would be affected during the third and final phase of devolution, would be accommodated in other ministries/departments soon. He, however, proposed that it might be appropriate to constitute a committee of the cabinet to look after the teething problems of the post-devolution scenario and to resolve them, since the implementation commission shall cease to exist on June 30, 2011.
After detailed discussion on the devolution of ministries to the provinces, the cabinet approved the following guidelines: (a) employees working in various field/organisations under the seventeen ministries shall be transferred to the respective administrations of the provinces and federal areas (Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Balitistan and Fata) under section 10 of the Civil Servants Act 1973, pending formulation of new enabling law on the subject; (b) employees working in any ministry being abolished shall be adjusted in other ministries/divisions; (c) development projects of these ministries will also be transferred to the provinces/federal territories along with project employees;(d) none of the employees of the devolved ministries and their organisations shall be retrenched/laid off; and (e) office buildings, furniture, fixtures, equipment and transport in use of devolved establishment located in the provinces shall also stand transferred to the respective provinces.
The meeting observed that the devolution process initiated after the passage of the 18th amendment to restore the due autonomy to the provinces was envisaged by the framers of the 1973 Constitution.
The cabinet also decided that the Employees' Old Age benefits Institution and the Workers Welfare Fund shall be managed by the federal government in co-ordination with the provincial governments owning to trans-provincial implications of these funds. The modalities for these institutions will be worked out in consultation with the provinces through the Council of Common Interests (CCI). Till such time, the affairs of these entities will be looked after by the Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Division.