Bureaucrats may replace Nazimeen by August 14

[Naveed Yaseen]

AFTAB CHANNA
KARACHI (August 04 2009): The Sindh government is expected to appoint bureaucrats as administrators in place of district nazims by the 14th of this month on the completion of present local governments' tenure, it is reliably learnt. "The control of all the district governments will be handed over to civil servants till the elections of local bodies are held under the new system," official sources in the LG Department told Business Recorder on Monday.

"District Co-ordination Officers (DCOs) would be appointed as administrators in all 23 districts. While Town/Taluka Municipal Officers would act as administrators in 119 towns and taluka, and Union Council (UC) secretaries would assume charge as administrators in 1,108 UCs of the province to resolve the issues of masses," they added.

The sources said all four provinces including the Sindh government had submitted proposals to Prime Minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani for changes in the local government system. The Prime Minister had reportedly forwarded a summary to the President for approval, they added. "It is hoped that the President would approve the summary by August 10 and the provinces would appoint civil servants as administrators for an interim period," they opined.

"Under the Constitution, it is a provincial subject and provinces are empowered to take decision about its (local governments) status, besides making changes in the local bodies system according to their requirements," they said. "In Sindh, PPP's coalition partner, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) wants appointment of political nominees as administrators, however, the ruling Pakistan People's Party is bent upon the appointment of bureaucrats in the province."

"The MQM is proposing that the present local bodies system should be allowed to be continued and the schedule of elections be announced so that the winners of elections are handed over power directly," they said. "However, in the year 2005, the MQM had opposed the local bodies election under the supervision of district nazims, and the DCOs were appointed as administrators for a short period of time," they said.

The sources were hopeful that the PPP would make its coalition partner MQM agree over the appointment of bureaucrats as administrators. The Punjab province had recommended the appointment of bureaucrats as administrators to replace district nazims, they said, adding that it also wanted to replace TMOs with the Deputy District Officers (DDOs) Revenue at town/tensil levels.

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