PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed a proposed law to abolish the pension and gratuity facility for future government employees after retirement and introduce contributory pension for them.

The house, which met with Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan Khan in the chair, also passed bills for the medical teaching institutions’ reforms, abolition of the medical relief endowment fund, and regularisation of the transport department’s contractual employees.

The house unanimously passed the KP Civil Servants (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Through an amendment in the bill, the KP Civil Servant Act 1973’s Section 19, which entitles a government servant on retirement to pension or gratuity, has been replaced with a new section providing for the contributory pension fund for the future staff members of public sector department and organisations.

“A person to be appointed on regular basis to a service or post in the prescribed manner, on or after the commencement of KP Civil Servants Amendment Bill 2022, shall for all intent and purposes, be civil servant, except for the purpose pension and gratuity, be entitled to receive such amount contributed by him towards contributory provident fund, along with the contributions, made by the government to his account in the said fund,” reads Section 2 of the bill.

New law provides for contributory pension fund; PA also passes bill to abolish health endowment fund

It, however, said those employed before the enactment of that law would be entitled to receive pension and gratuity as admissible to them under the pension rules.

The house also approved the Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and KP Medical Relief Endowment Fund (Repeal) Bill, 2002, and the private member KP Transport Department (Regularisation of Services) Bill, 2022.

The private member bill was jointly moved by Nighat Orakzai of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party and Asif Khan of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Earlier, the speaker relaxed the rules to allow Mrs Orakzai to introduce her private member agenda on a government agenda day.

Transport minister Shah Mohammad Wazir did not object to Mrs Orakzai’s proposal to introduce the bill on the government business day.

During question hour, health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra informed the house that his department has advertised 300 vacancies of medical specialists throughout the province to meet the shortage of doctors.

“These contractual appointments will be facility-based,” he said.

Mr Jhagra said the government has revamped over 600 basic health units and rural health centres across the province.

“It is a major project and the government has even allowed hospitals to generate revenue by themselves,” he said.

The minister said the health department wanted to make each BHU an independent unit.

To a question raised by PPP member Nighat Orakzai regarding the regularisation of ad hoc doctors, he said a summary for the purpose was with the chief minister for approval.

Mr Jhagra said the government would make a provision for it in the next budget.

Regarding the revamping of health facilities in tribal districts, he said PC-I for the purpose was ready and the provincial government would also spare funds from the current budget for the region as well.

He complained that the federal government hadn’t released fourth quarter’s development funds for tribal districts.

“Only half of development funds were released after our protests,” he said.

Mr Jhagra also said eight MRI machines would be procured on the basis of public-private partnership for health facilities across the province.

On a calling attention notice, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal member Inayatullah Khan raised the issue of the regularisation of the services of schoolteachers hired through the National Testing Service and said despite the passing of a unanimous resolution by the assembly and government’s assurances, the elementary and secondary education department was dragging its feet on the issue.

Housing minister Dr Amjad Ali informed the assembly that a summary had been sent to the law department for vetting and the summary for regularisation would be placed before the provincial cabinet in the next meeting.

Towards the end of the session when MPAs were speaking on a point of order, a member pointed out a lack of quorum. The subsequent headcount showed the presence of only 19 members in the house prompting the chair to ring bells for two minutes followed by a headcount, which revealed that only 21 members were in attendance. The chair later adjourned the session until Tuesday afternoon.

Published in Dawn, May 31st, 2022