Senate panel questions re-creation of devolved ministries after 18th Amendment

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution on Friday expressed serious concerns over the re-establishment of federal ministries on subjects devolved to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment, and constituted a sub-committee to examine the alleged violations.

The requisitioned meeting was held at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro. Senators Poonjo Bheel and Jan Muhammad Buledi also attended.

Addressing the meeting, Senator Ghumro said the first notification devolving ministries was issued on Dec 2, 2010, followed by notifications on April 15, 2011, and June 29, 2011, under which 17 ministries dealing with concurrent and provincial subjects were transferred to the provinces.

“The re-creation of ministries after June 30, 2011, dealing with devolved subjects amounted to a violation of the Constitution,” he stated.

He cited education, health, national food security, culture, climate change, social initiatives, housing, EOBI, the Evacuee Trust and the collection of Zakat and Ushr among the subjects that had been devolved but where federal ministries/divisions continued to function.

“The continuation of federal ministries on devolved subjects not only contradicts the constitutional scheme but also imposes an unnecessary financial burden on the federal government at a time when austerity measures are being implemented,” he said.

Senator Ghumro noted that while the Constitution envisaged only nine federal ministries — Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Commerce, Communications, Maritime Affairs, Science and Technology, Law and Justice, and Parliamentary Affairs — the federal structure had expanded to 31 ministries.

The committee constituted a sub-committee to examine devolution matters, including violations of the 2010 and 2011 notifications issued on the recommendations of the Implementation Commission under Article 270AA.

The senator directed the Cabinet Division to cancel the creation of ministries on ICT matters and submit a report.

Senator Bheel said these ministries should be abolished as the matter had been settled by the Implementation Commission. Senator Buledi stressed the need to review the functioning of the CCI, which he said had been made “dysfunctional”.

The committee directed the Establishment Division to refrain from making appointments in devolved subjects and submit a compliance report within 15 days, along with details of appointments in all grades.

It also sought details of payments made to provinces from oil and gas revenues over the past 16 years, noting that provinces were not receiving their due share.

It further directed the Establishment Division to provide a complete list of federal secretaries, along with details of their tenures. ...