November 18, 2002	Monday	Ramazan 12, 1423

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 17: President Gen Pervez Musharraf is likely to hand over the charge as head of the devolution plan committee to the new prime minister next week, official sources told Dawn.

In practical terms, the prime minister will become head of the committee, which is being renamed as prime minister’s committee on devolution plan (PMCD) instead of chief executive committee on devolution plan.

According to the new composition of the committee, the prime minister will be the chairman and the NWFP governor is to represent FATA. Its members will include chief ministers, federal ministers for defence, finance, interior, KANA & SAFRON, local government, chairman of National Reconstruction Bureau and chief of staff to the president. The cabinet secretary would act as secretary of the committee.

The Governor’s Task Force on Devolution (GTFD) for each province will be replaced by the chief minister’s committee on devolution (CMCD) to oversee the implementation of devolution plan in respective provinces.

The chief ministers of the provinces and the ministers for local governments will act as chairman and deputy chairman of the committee, respectively, whereas ministers for finance and law of the respective provinces will work as its members.

Similarly, chief secretaries will perform the duties of secretary of the provincial devolution committees, with the assistance of secretary local government and secretary to governor. The committee has been authorized to engage other members from the provincial government.

According to the sources, a National Steering Committee on Devolution (NSCD) will also be constituted. It will be headed by NRB chairman and serve as a forum for the provincial governments to interact and discuss local government’s issues, make recommendations to the PMCD and supervise the implementation of PMCD decisions.

The provincial ministers for local government and finance; the federal secretaries of interior, defence, finance, local government; and secretary to the NWFP governor, will work as members of the NSCD.

The federal government, the sources said, had empowered the NRB to act as the focal organization as part of the prime minister’s secretariat to chalk out fundamental guidelines for the devolution plan.

The steering committee will interact with the government organizations for capacity building of local government officials at all levels, initiate proposals for reconstruction of civil services at the federal, provincial and local levels, and assist the governments concerned in implementation of the approved proposals.

The committee will process the amendments in the local government laws proposed by the federal and provincial governments under Article 268 of the 1973 constitution.

The committee, the sources said, would submit annual report to the prime minister in March on its working, studies, research, recommendations or suggestions in respect of any matter dealt with by the NRB during the preceding year.

The National Reconstruction Bureau, they added, would continue its work in collaboration with the federal ministries/divisions and provincial governments, particularly on manual on licensing by TMAs; manual on municipal taxation; revenue management by local governments; property management; guidelines for transfer of functions from TMA to union administration the territory of which corresponds to a defunct town committee; guidelines for transfer of functions from a TMA to two or three union administrations comprising the area of a defunct town committee; manual on water supply system; manual on sewerage and drainage System; manual on solid waste disposal; manual on spatial planning; guidelines for city districts in transition; model rules for LG system in cantonments; model rules for LG System in ICT; manuals on LG finance system; model police rules under Police Order 2002; model prosecution service rules; development of training modules for training of elected representatives and employees of local governments; development of manuals on facilitating Nazims in district governments; model land revenue act; development of LG system based on LG Plan 2000 for Northern Areas and the AJK.

The sources said a school of local governance would be established to undertake research on local government issues and organize training and capacity building programmes. The National Centre for Rural Development and Municipal Administration, Islamabad, and Municipal Training Research Institute, Karachi, will be declared as campuses of the school.