KARACHI: Sindh Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Sikander Mandhro has stated the provincial assembly has been carrying out all its business, including legislation, as per rules of procedure of the provincial assembly.

For this purpose, he said, the assembly had updated the rules for the first time after 40 years and that was why Sindh was leading all the provincial assemblies in legislation business.

Dr Mandhro dispelled an impression created by Leader of the Opposition Shaharyar Mahar in a media briefing that the Sindh Assembly was carrying out legislation in violation of rules, with reference to the Sindh Public-Private Partnership (Amendment) bill which was taken up for consideration soon after being laid in the house.

The minister, who was talking to Dawn in his assembly chamber on Tuesday, said that under the rules of procedure of the provincial assembly, a motion could be moved in the house that the requirements of Rule 99 and Rule 100 be dispensed with, and that the bill after introduction be taken into consideration at once. If the motion was carried, the bill could be taken up for consideration forthwith, he said.

As leader of the opposition had walked out of the house, how he could claim that the bill was passed without meeting the formalities of rules which were followed before the bill was passed into law, the minister said.

Besides, Mr Mandhro said, the amendment made to the bill was meant only to add “accept voluntary contributions, whether financial or non-financial by the private party including but not limited to charity, philanthropic gifts and legacy”. He said this amendment was necessary as the philanthropist who had agreed to run two government hospitals — one in Karachi and another in Hyderabad — on a public-private partnership wanted to divert his financial and non-financial contribution also to upgrade the hospitals to deliver to the suffering humanity.

He said the experience of sending bills to the standing committees was, however, not very encouraging as they took months to submit their recommendations on the bill to the assembly making it difficult for the house to carry out the legislation business in an effective way. He said important bills, which called for thorough deliberation, were already being referred to the standing committees concerned with the request for an early expedition of the report.

As far as the quorum was concerned, he said, leader of the opposition was part of the proceedings of the assembly business prior to the walkout. Had there been the issue of incomplete quorum, the leader of the opposition could have point it out then and there, he said. The minister said if the leader of the opposition had gone through the amendment or listened to him when he was highlighting the general principles and objectives of the amendment, he would not have raised such objections.

He said the government was in talks with the management of the Indus and Aga Khan University Hospitals, besides philanthropists, to improve working of public sector hospitals where despite providing huge funds for medicines and modern equipment, people were often found complaining of non-availability of medicines, unhygienic conditions and equipment out of order.

In reply to a question, Dr Mandhro said the medical mission comprising doctors and medical students from Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro went to Tharparkar on their own without any intimation to the authorities and after reaching there they asked the administration in Tharparkar to arrange necessary facilities for their lodging and boarding that was not possible to manage at short notice.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014