KARACHI – With the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce directing the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) to propose amendments in the ordinance of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) by the end of this month; a rift is likely to surface between the two government bodies over the expected changes.
Though the ministry, sources claimed, is interested to propose amendments in the ordinance while clipping wings of the TDAP and making it more under control of the ministry but on the other hand the authority wants to revive the Ordinance without any change.
As per the proposed amendments scripted and later to be presented to the committee by the ministry, the commerce secretary, would be given more powers to run the affairs of TDAP, an autonomous organisation of the country to facilitate and promote exports. While, on the other hand, the TDAP was insisting on approval from the parliament without a substantial changes in the ordinance as the autonomy was necessary for the organization to improve the country’s export.
However, the reconstitution of the TDAP Board of Directors was also proposed by the authority as under the existing size of the Board which comprises Minister for Commerce as chairman of the board of directors while the chief executive, TDAP as its vice chairman and other 25 members including 15 ex-officio members while 10 from the private sectors, was not suitable affecting badly the performance of the authority, sources claimed.
However, the official sources at TDAP claimed that the authority was yet not consulted over the proposed amendments which were likely to be submitted before the standing committee by the ministry. The committee had earlier asked the ministry to include the input of parliamentarians while board of TDAP should also be reconstituted through reducing the size of the board. The National Assembly’s Committee on Commerce on March 10 had directed the Ministry to submit the propose amendments in TDAP Ordinance 2007 latest by March, 31, 2011.
TDAP Ordinance after it was re-promulgated by the President on November 29, 2009 was subsequently introduced as a bill in the National Assembly where the assembly was yet to decide the fate of the government organization.
On the other hand, the body’s board of directors, which is the supreme decision-making body of the TDAP, having the power to supervise, control, direct and regulate the affairs of the authority, was not reconstituted for the last over one year after completion its tenure in 2009.
The absence of board was affecting the government body’s day to day affairs severely. Talking about the expired board, they said that the authority had timely taken the issue into the notice of the ministry through sending various letters last year. With the absence of board, ordinance and business rules, the authority’s status was very ambiguous while putting a big question over the fate of the organisation, they added.
