KARACHI: The Sindh government on Tuesday finally decided to announce setting up of the much-delayed Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) for the vertical distribution of available resources to the local bodies.

The announcement to this effect was made by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while speaking to the media after performing the concluding ceremony of the three-day urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi.

Though there has been a constant demand for the PFC Award from different political parties, including Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the provincial government has not announced the same as yet.

The PFC Award, which has to be issued after every four years for the distribution of financial share to all districts and local government agencies from provincial revenues. The previous Award was announced in 2007.

Hints at retrenchment of LG employees drawing two salaries

Around 55 per cent of the province’s revenues are supposed to be distributed under the previous PFC while the remaining 45 per cent is to be kept by the Sindh government.

The chief minister said on Tuesday that the provincial government had started spade work to design the next PFC which would be finalised within a month.

He said that the newly-elected representatives of the local bodies had taken over, therefore, he decided to announce the next PFC for the vertical distribution of available resources among the metropolitan corporation, district councils, district municipal corporations, municipal committees and town committees.

Replying to a question, the CM said that the cabinet had decided to announce the PFC Award within a month once the local bodies were put in place. “Now the elected representatives of the local bodies have taken over, we are going to form the commission and then the commission would decide a formula of the Award,” he said, and added that his government would financially strengthen the third tier of the government.

The PFC ascertains the share of available resources between provincial government and local bodies and this is generally known as ‘vertical distribution’. It also formulates a criterion for the distribution of allocated funds to local government horizontally among different tiers and local councils.

Double salary in local bodies

In reply to another question, the chief minister said that digitalisation of salaries in KMC and some other local bodies’ institutions had unearthed a large number of employees who were drawing double salaries. “This is a crime and punishable under the law,” he said.

He said his government had decided to retrench such employees after fulfilling the legal formalities.

Mr Shah said that similar irregularities in pension cases had also been found which were being scrutinised and would be dealt with accordingly.

Census

In reply to yet another question, CM Shah said that he had not received official figures of the digital census. “When I’ll receive them officially, I will be able to comment on them,” he said.

Giving an oblique reference to the MQM-P, he said that through a press conference on January 27, 2023, they (MQM-P) had expressed their satisfaction with the conduct of the digital census. “They told the media that they have formed committees to facilitate people’s registered but it was me who had questioned the methodology of the census,” he said.

He said that despite his requests, the MQM-P boycotted the local bodies’ elections and now in order to satisfy their frustration they were levelling baseless allegations against his government and trying to take the credit for the achievement they never achieved.

He added that it was an election stunt, and remarked: “Let them play with the galleries”.

Natural gas

The chief minister said that Sindh was producing 70 per cent gas of the country and as per the Constitution, people of this province had the foremost right to use it. “I have been fighting the case of Sindh with the successive prime ministers and with the grace of God have achieved something for the people of my province,” he said.

Nooriabad Power Plant

Mr Shah said that the Nooriabad Power plant was providing 100MW of cheap electricity to Karachi since its commission. “It is an irony that the power plant which has been operating to its maximum capacity for the last five years and providing uninterrupted electricity to the city, still I have been facing a NAB case for the last four years,” he deplored. But this could not stop him and his party from serving the masses, he added.

Dubai meeting

In reply to a question, Mr Shah said that no consensus was reached in the recent Dubai meeting on the premiership of Shehbaz Sharif.

He said that in the forthcoming general election, PPP would emerge as the single largest party in the country and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari would become the prime minister.

Urs

Earlier, the chief minister performed the concluding ceremony of the three-day urs of Abdullah Shah Ghazi by laying a floral wreath on the mazar. He distributed gifts among deserving women.

Published in Dawn, July 12th, 2023