KARACHI: The Sindh government has decided to establish an independent body — Sindh Ehtesab Commission — to effectively deal with complaints related to corruption and to purge the government of corrupt elements.

The existing anti-corruption establishment will be merged into the proposed commission, which will be constituted through legislation by the Sindh Assembly.

After the commission’s enactment, the National Accountability Bureau, which is a federal institution, will no more be able to take action against provincial government officials without taking the commission on board, sources said.

The decision was taken at a meeting presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah at CM House on Thursday.

The draft bill for the establishment of the commission is likely to be tabled in the next assembly session.

Sources close to the law department said that the scope and field of operations of the independent commission would be wider than the existing anti-corruption establishment’s role.

They said every province was allowed to constitute such a commission after the passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution, 1973.

The sources explained that the move would contribute to good governance and transparency in all dealings in government departments, while keeping a check on the misuse of authority.

While referring to the anti-corruption establishment that was reactivated recently after it had remained dormant for years, the chief minister said it was a “good and effective” organisation that had nabbed many corrupt elements in the past but he wanted to enhance its capacity and scope to purge the provincial government of corrupt elements.

In order to expedite the process, Mr Shah constituted a committee comprising the law secretary, advocate general, home secretary and other officers concerned to prepare a draft bill for the Sindh Ehtesab Commission. After its approval by the provincial cabinet, the draft bill is likely to be tabled in the next session of the assembly.

The chief minister said the Ehtesab Commission would have an independent board with a chairman. “It would be a strong, efficient and a purely professional organisation where only clean and competent officers will be inducted,” he said.

After the establishment of the commission, Sindh would have its own accountability commission just like Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that already had one, he added.

Among others, the meeting was attended by Minister for Local Government Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Chief Secretary Siddique Memon, Advocate General Fatah Malik, Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo, Senior Member Board of Revenue Mohammad Waseem, Home Secretary Mukhtiar Soomro and Law Secretary Mir Mohammad Shaikh.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2015

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