KARACHI : Number of govt nominees on FCS board may be cut
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Sept 17: The general-body meeting of the Fishermen Cooperative Society has approved a proposal for a cut in the number of government-nominated directors in the board of directors by amending the relevant bylaws of the Society.
At present, the board of directors has seven elected representatives of the fishermen community and eight government-nominated members. Following the amendment, the FCS board will have 10 elected representatives of fishermen and five directors nominated by heads of different government departments.
FCS senior director Haji Mohammad Yunis said that the general body had been called on Sept 14 according to the bylaws of the Society and the amendment was communicated to the registrar of the cooperative department for official notification.
He said the fisheries sector had been ruined and the society crippled financially due to ill-advised policies of the directors, who had been nominated by the government on political grounds. He said time had come that government’s interference in the affairs of the Society be stopped and elected representatives of the fishermen be allowed to play their due role in the affairs of the Society.
He regretted that bureaucratic hurdles were being created so that the amendment made to the relevant bylaws could not be implemented. However, he made it clear that if the amended bylaws were not implemented in letter and spirit the matter would be brought before a court of law.
Baba Bhitt
However, the Baba Bhitt fishermen associations in a meeting termed the FCS’s general-body meeting illegal. According to a press release issued by the Bonafide Fishermen & Boat Owners Association, the meeting condemned the proposed amendment in the bylaws and urged the cooperative minister to declare the amendment null and void.
It urged the FCS Registrar to appoint an administrator for holding new elections of the board by issuing computerized cards to all members of the society.
The meeting was attended by President Bonafide Fishermen Association Asif Bhatti, Vice-chairman of Fishermen Cooperative Society Haji Ali Mohammad, former FCS chairman Abuzar Mariwara, President Fishermen Welfare Association Haji Ismail Bhatti, and General-Secretary Baba Bhitt Welfare Association Mohammad Husain.
