Implementing 1979 local government law: Qaim takes coalition partners on board

The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has constituted a nine-member committee for implementing the Local Government System of 1979 in letter and spirit, Business Recorder has learnt here on Wednesday.
The committee, comprising ministers for law and local government, the chief secretary, secretaries of local government, law, finance, two members of MQM and a member of PML-F, will discuss problems and furnish suggestions within next seven days to the chief minister,.
Informed sources said that this committee was formed during a high-level meeting held at the Chief Minister House chaired by the chief minister.
This meeting was attended by Minister for Law and Prisons Ayaz Soomro, Minister for Local Government Agha Siraj Durrani, Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah and Chief Secretary Raja Muhammad Abbas. The Senior member of the Board of Revenue, Secretary Law, Secretary Local Government Ali Ahmed Lund and the Secretary Finance also attended the meeting.
Sources said that the committee will start working from April 19, (today). Participants of the meeting also discussed the matter of two notifications issued on March 6 this year regarding the transfer of financial powers of administrators and TMOs to commissioners and deputy commissioners, sources said.
Issues related with the non-implementation of the said notifications were discussed in detail. Agha Siraj Durani opposed the implementation of notifications and asked Chief Minister Sindh to personally review the matter, sources said.
The Secretary Local Government elaborated aspects, functions and administrative powers in the light of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance, 1979, sources said.
He maintained that commissioners and deputy commissioners possessed controlling powers, while the government could appoint any person/officer as an administrator in various local councils, sources said.
He suggested that administrators might be posted from the local government department.
Officials at the CM House, sources said, were likely to ask MQM and the PML-F to name their members on April 19 (today) so that the committee could start its work immediately, sources said.
A press release issued by the Chief Minister House quoted the Sindh chief minister as saying that after the SLGO 2001, the 1979 law prevailed and a policy would be framed in the light of that law.
Later, Minister for Local Government, Finance Minister, Law Minister, Chief Secretary, Secretary Law, Secretary Finance, Commissioners of Karachi, Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur and Mirpurkhas, Deputy Commissioners of Tando Allahyar and others discussed the matter in detail.
Winding up the debate, the Sindh chief minister said that law was very much clear regarding who controlled local council authorities, while the matters of appointing administrators and how to implement development schemes remained to be finalised, adding that some formalities were yet to be resolved.