The Implementation Commission on the 18th Amendment has finalised its recommendations and sought approval from the federal government to complete the devolution process. A source told Pakistan Today that the final meeting of the commission that was held on Saturday recommended the government give full support to the provinces in better handling of the devolved ministries; as such coordination was a must to ensure the transfer of powers from the federation to provincial units under the constitution.
The source said the recommendations of the commission would be approved at a special meeting of the federal cabinet on tomorrow (Tuesday) at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. The commission recommended the federal government observe July 1, 2011, as the Provincial Autonomy Day, the source said, adding that the commission had urged the government that the provinces must be provided institutional, technical and financial support to sustain the devolution process. The commission asked the government to make sure that no employee of the devolved ministries and their subsidiary departments was retrenched or sent to the surplus pool. In this regard, the source said, a cabinet committee comprising ministers who were members of the commission should be formed to monitor the post devolution process. The commission also recommended the federal government ensure that the subsidiary departments, which were now with the federal government, should be streamlined and their financial support be ensured.
Moreover, the source said, the capital administrative and development authority should look after the subsidiaries of the devolved ministries, their assets, employees and other aspects. The draft recommendations had been approved and the final recommendations sent to the cabinet, the source said.
