MULTAN, Jan 14th: Ex-Senator Malik Rafiq Rajwana Advocate ,member of PLGO committee said that Mian Nawaz Sharif had asked them to frame a viable ,corruption free Punjab Local Government Ordinance (PLGO) 2010 and we are collecting good and applicable clauses of Punjab Local Government Act 1979 and existing Local Government act . Talking to newsmen here on Thursday he said that administrators would be appointed after arrival of Mian Shahbaz Sharif from Turkey and these would be from the District management group. He said that Punbjab Local Government Act 1979 was being amended to appoint the administrators. He said that PML-N Government did not withdraw the allegation of corruption against the Nazimeen who had misappropriated funds of Rs.32 billion. He dispelled this impression that PLGO 2010 was opposed by the Muslim leaguers in the parliamentary committee meeting .Sources said that the proceedings revealed that when it was brought up, the PLGO 2010 was met with harsh criticism from members, who opposed the wide range of administrative powers that would be conferred upon bureaucrats under the new law.
Held on Friday, the meeting was initially chaired by Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif. But when the CM was called away, his adviser Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa took over. One ‘vote of confidence’: After a presentation on the proposed ordinance by the local government secretary, most members, both implicitly and explicitly, voiced support for the existing LGO 2001. Of the 56 members that wanted to speak, only 24 were allowed to do so. Of them, only one, Punjab Prisons Minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, spoke in favour of the proposed law.Bureaucracy-centric: According to its critics, the existing law “empowers the people at the grassroots, which is something that is not digestible for bureaucrats”. Most members feared the new PLGO 2010 would usher in an era of ‘bureaucratic supremacy’, which was unacceptable. “Not every politician is corrupt and not every bureaucrat is an honest man,” were the words of one member, who said the new ordinance was tantamount to “playing into the hands of the bureaucracy”.Advantage PML-Q: Many members expressed the fear that if scrapped, the PML-Q could use the LGO 2001 as a rallying-cry in their next election campaign and mar the image of the PML-N by accusing them of doing away with pro-people laws. Senior Vice President of PML-N Makhdoom Javed Hashmi suggested that devolution of power was a good policy and we should appoint the District governor’ to redress the grievances of the masses at grass root level .
Held on Friday, the meeting was initially chaired by Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif. But when the CM was called away, his adviser Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa took over. One ‘vote of confidence’: After a presentation on the proposed ordinance by the local government secretary, most members, both implicitly and explicitly, voiced support for the existing LGO 2001. Of the 56 members that wanted to speak, only 24 were allowed to do so. Of them, only one, Punjab Prisons Minister Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor, spoke in favour of the proposed law.Bureaucracy-centric: According to its critics, the existing law “empowers the people at the grassroots, which is something that is not digestible for bureaucrats”. Most members feared the new PLGO 2010 would usher in an era of ‘bureaucratic supremacy’, which was unacceptable. “Not every politician is corrupt and not every bureaucrat is an honest man,” were the words of one member, who said the new ordinance was tantamount to “playing into the hands of the bureaucracy”.Advantage PML-Q: Many members expressed the fear that if scrapped, the PML-Q could use the LGO 2001 as a rallying-cry in their next election campaign and mar the image of the PML-N by accusing them of doing away with pro-people laws. Senior Vice President of PML-N Makhdoom Javed Hashmi suggested that devolution of power was a good policy and we should appoint the District governor’ to redress the grievances of the masses at grass root level .
