Re: Naya KPK beats Badla Hua Punjab once again!!!
KP govt tables bill to amend Ehtesab commission law
PESHAWAR: The provincial government on Friday tabled a bill in the provincial assembly to amend the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ehtesab Commission Act with a suggestion that the commission shall not take action in matters related to the ongoing development schemes and procedural lapses at the government departments.
The proposed law KPEC (Amendment) Bill 2016 tabled by law minister Imtiaz Shahid also proposed curtailment of the powers of the commission`s director general stating that the director general should only order an inquiry or investigation in matters involving financial loss to the provincial exchequer not less than Rs50 million.
Under the existing law, the KPE C DG is empowered to `order inquiry or investigation into any incident or an act or omission of a person or accused that reasonably appears to constitute an offence under the Act.
The bill added that if the financial loss to the exchequer is less than Rs50 million, the matter shall be inquired and investigated by the Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE).Initially, when the KPEC Act was enacted in 2014, it provided for the abolition of the ACE suggesting there shouldn`t be two parallel antigraft bodies.
However, the Act was later amended to allow the ACE to continue to function.
Following the promulgation of a `controversial` ordinance by the provincial government on Feb 9, through which drastic amendments were made to the KPEC Act, the then director general, retired Lt-Gen Hamid Khan had resigned.
Chairman of the ruling PTI Imran Khan referred the matter to a committee headed by noted lawyer Hamid Khan for examination and recommendation. The current bill was drafted in light of a report submitted by that committee.
Through the said ordinance, powers of the five-member Ehtesab commission were increased specially in the Kling of references, arresting of suspects and starting of investigation and inquiries.
However, the governor withdrew that ordinance on May 2 and thus, restoring the KPEC Act in its previous form.
The KPEC (Amendment) Act 2016 provides for the setting up of the directorate general of the commission to be headed by the DG and consisting of several wings.
Contrary to the ordinance, it doesn`t include any noteworthy provision for enhancing powers of the five Ehtesab commissioners and therefore, the DG will continue to call the shots.
Earlier during the question hour, the sports and tourism department in a written reply to a question of PML-N MPA Amna Sardar revealed that it had appointed two officers in BPS-16, one in BPS-14 and one of Class-IV in 2014 without advertising those posts in newspapers.
Sports, culture and tourism minister Mehmood Khan didn`t defend his department on the floor of the house and instead said such officers were appointed before he was given the portfolio.
`I have been heading this department for two months, while the appointments in question were made in 2014,` he said.
Amna Sardar said the matter should be referred to the relevant house committee for investigation as the relevant department had admitted on record that the officers in question were appointed in violation of law and procedure.
The matter was referred to the committee after Deputy Speaker Dr Mehr Taj Roghani, who was chairing the session, put it to vote.
Through another question, Amna Sardar had sought details of the funds used to organise different festivals and other tourism-related activities in parts of the province.
She however said the department had given wrong information to the house in reply to her question.
`It (department) has violated the sanctity of this august house,` she said.
In a written reply tabled on the noor of the house, the sports and culture department revealed in the reply that Rs14.5 million had been utilised on Khanpur Festival in Haripur, Rs13.77 million on Polo Festival in Shandur, Chitral, and Rs7.3 million on Khor Khurtti, Peshawar.`I have the correct information released by the department at the time of organising these festivals, which doesn`t match the details shared in the house,` she claimed.
The chair referred the question to the relevant committee of the house after the assembly`s approval.
Speaking on a point of order, ANP parliamentary secretary Sardar Hussain Babak demanded that the government provide free vaccines to the victims of rat bites, whose incidence had increased alarmingly.
He said the rat bite victims were poor people, who couldn`t afford to buy vaccine at Rs850.
Public health engineering minister Shah Farman said the increasing rat bite incidents in Peshawar were a very serious issue as rats had so far bitten 374 local residents.
Speaking on a calling attention notice, PML-N member Mohammad Rashad Khan said 19 people were killed in Shangla, while the entire infrastructure was destroyed in the recent torrential rains. He demanded that the government compensate the families of the deceased as well as the injured and initiate rehabilitation without delay.
The MPA said though the provincial government had declared Shangla calamity-hit area, no step had so far been taken for the rehabilitation and compensation there.
The house didn`t pass the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation Bill, 2016, which was on the agenda, due to a lack of quorum after the prayer break.
The chair later prorogued the session while reading out the message of Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra.