LAHORE: The PML-N has ignored a vital amendment ordinance in the last days of its stay in office in Punjab, leaving unattended the district health and education authorities which it had trumpeted much while creating them under the otherwise powerless local government system in 2013.

Official sources said on Sunday the government was to appoint chairmen and vice chairmen of the authorities which were in fact the only two examples of devolution of provincial government at the district level. But it did not, and instead appointed deputy commissioners as their administrators. It was also to appoint the chief executive officers but gave these powers to formerly EDOs health and education in each district.

They said the term of the administrators was over on Dec 31 and they had reported to the provincial government to extend their tenure as legally they could not head the authorities any further.

They said the administrators were appointed under Section 30 (3) of the Local Government Act 2013 for 12 months.

The government should have extended the tenure soon after Dec 31, 2017 but it did not do so despite reminders by the departments concerned and the deputy commissioners.

Officials said an ordinance suggesting an amendment to the Local Government Act 2013 was prepared and sent to the chief minister for approval, and for forwarding it to the governor for signature and promulgation in the last week of May (last month). But the approval had not come as yet -- three days after the expiry of the tenure of the PML-N’s provincial government on May 31.

The draft ordinance stated that it was necessary for extending the term of appointment of administrators of the district education authorities and district health authorities and the local governments.

The proposed amendment was in Section 30 subsection (3), replacing the word “twelve months”, with the words “two years” meaning thereby that the tenure of the administrators would be two years instead of the existing one year.

The Punjab government had created both the authorities under Section 92 of the Local Government Act 2013.

The same section had provided that the government shall, through open competition, appoint the Chief Executive Officer of an authority on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed and, until so appointed, it may appoint an officer not below the rank of BS-18 to look after the functions of the CEO.

The CEO shall be the principal accounting officer of the authority and shall perform such functions as are mentioned in this Act or as may be prescribed or as may be delegated by the authority or as the government may assign.

Sources said the government did not appoint the chairmen and vice chairmen on two main accounts. First, it was hard to find people of the qualifications fixed for them in such a large number. Second, if they were available not many were politically inclined towards the PML-N.

Second, the authorities were allocated funds and the government appointed deputy commissioners as the administrators so as to ensure the spending of these funds as it desired through a trained team of officers directly under its command, sources alleged.

They said in fact the authorities should have elected people as their majority members. But the government did not allow this and appointed deputy commissioners as their administrators to fully control them. The CEOs too were under the deputy commissioners and this means a total control over the finances. The government followed the same model of running the defunct local governments through administrators (DCOs) while avoiding local government elections under the devolution of Musharraf era’s Local Government Ordinance 2001.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2018