Sindh Assembly passes local governments' empowerment bill

KARACHI: The Sindh Assembly on Thursday passed a legislation to empower the heads of local councils, ARY News reported.

Sindh’s Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mukesh Chawla tabled the bill in the assembly.

“Cities’ mayors and local councils’ heads will be chairmen of concerned divisional, district development authority,” according to the legislation passed in the provincial legislature.

Karachi’s Mayor will be ex-officio chairman of the Karachi Development Authority (KDA), Lyari Development Authority (LDA) and Malir Development Authority (MDA).

Mayor Karachi will also be the ex-officio chairman of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, as per text of the legislation.

Chief Executive of the Solid Waste Management Board will be appointed with consultation of the concerned mayor and one of the three officers proposed by him. Chief Executive of the water board will also be one of the three officials suggested by the mayor.

Meanwhile, Mayor Hyderabad will be the chairman of the Hyderabad Development Authority.

The head of the concerned district council will be Sehwan Development Authority’s ex-officio chairman.

The employees of all development authorities will be subordinate to the council, according to the draft of the bill.

It is to be mentioned here that the Sindh Cabinet on Wednesday approved the establishment of Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) for distribution of financial resources to all districts and local government agencies from the provincial revenues.

Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, who presided over the cabinet meeting, also directed the chief secretary to get the PFC notified as he wanted to announce the PFC award before the end of his tenure.