PESHAWAR: Legal status of finance committee unclear
Bureau Report
PESHAWAR, Oct 9: Legal status of the Provincial Finance Committee (PFC) appears to be a big question mark for not being covered under the NWFP Local Government Ordinance (LGO), 2001, according to official sources.
The LGO, 2001, appears to be silent over the formation/composition of PFC - set up in all the four provinces to devise a financial system required to come in place in the wake of the decentralization of powers under the local government system effected from Aug 14, last.
Though the PFC, in the case of NWFP, had been constituted through an executive order by the provincial government’s authority concerned, official circles said that it lacked legal weightage for not having been covered under the NWFP LOG, 2001.
In line with the frequently made announcements by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), PFCs have been constituted in all the four provinces to decide on important financial matters including devolution of financial powers from the province to the district governments, allocation of tax and non- tax heads from the province to the district governments and a formula for the distribution of resources among the district governments from the provincial funds.
Silence on the part of LOG, 2001, in respect of covering the PFC has been viewed as some thing on which the NRB - mentor of the local government system and the most vital policymaking body of the country - has yet to take a final decision.
“Composition of PFC is a vital issue, and it has yet to be decided,” said official sources.
The NRB had initially announced that Provincial Finance Commissions would be set up in all the provinces on the pattern of National Finance Commission (NFC) - giving equal representation to the district governments on the PFC.
Apparently, the issue, said the sources, remained to be decided as the proposal of equal representation drew reservations from the provinces who viewed it impracticable.
“Consensus decision can hardly be expected from a body with over 25 members,” said the sources.
Official sources said that PFC might be covered under the LOG, 2001, (through an imminent amendment) after the sitting PFC devised new financial system the province needed to have apart from deciding on the resource distribution formula to divide provincial resources among the district governments.
“Once the sitting PFC completes its assigned task the same can be brought under the ambit of the LOG, 2001, through an amendment with retrogressive effect,” said a senior officer.
The officers concerned of the provincial government, when contacted by this scribe, appeared evasive about the question of legal status of the PFC - which in the case of the NWFP is a committee in an apparent disregard to the NRB’s announcement which had asked for a commission.
