LAHORE: The Punjab cabinet is set to hold its 38thmeeting on Monday (today) with a long list of 29 agenda items, including the official decisions reflecting failure of governance at departmental level.

The cabinet still has over 150 pending agenda items, including some 60 of urgent nature, sources in the chief minister’s office told Dawn.

In the Monday’s meeting, the cabinet is expected to approve Online College Admission System 2019, rector and vice-chancellor’s appointment, declaring four wildlife parks as zoological gardens, provision of land for children and a family park in Shahdara, besides recruitment of educators in DG Khan district, among others.

The Punjab cabinet in its Monday meeting will also be required to give its nod for the Women Hostel Authority Bill 2020, legislation regarding Ruet-e-Hilal Bill 2019, enactment of Apprenticeship Act, replacing Apprenticeship Ordinance 1962, Punjab Press and Publication Act 2020, establishment of cement plants, price mechanism of TCP-imported sugar and recruitment against 1,142 vacant posts of educators (male and female) in DG Khan district.

With regard to the agenda item pertaining to ‘failure of governance at departmental level’, sources in the bureaucracy point out a “mismatch” between the expectations of civil bureaucracy and those of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s government in Punjab. The situation pushed the bureaucracy to slow working, cautious decision-making, and that too with certain safeguards, resulting in governance crisis.

The officials say the PTI had initially taken a high moral ground, promising to do away with corruption and undue political interference in government affairs, but it failed to translate its slogan into reality, as those who complained against political interference were “punished”.

Following humiliation of some of the officers considered close to the last PML-N government,most of senior bureaucrats had been opted avoiding postings in high-budget public departments requiring procurements running in billions of rupees just to avoid “risky” decision-making, an officer said.

He regretted that the government was not even able to distinguish between ‘mistake’ and corruption.

“The bureaucrats are now conscious about `financial and political risks’[attached to a post] as no clean officer wants to be tagged to a political party. Officers now look for posts where both these risks are at minimal level,” an officer in the chief minister’s office said.

“Either those officers are getting `prized postings’ who are aligned to both the PTI and PML-N or those who have wholeheartedly committed to serve the [ruling] party’s cause,” a senior officer lamented.

According to some officers, not even hard work, strong decision-making and integrity could save some of the bureaucrats from getting abruptly transferred.

Many officers were also uncomfortable with the “influence” some of their colleagues enjoyed in this government.

Sources say the Buzdar administration had practically rendered Chief Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik powerless as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Tahir Khurshid was looking into the affairs of the administration. Mr Khurshid was earlier posted as additional chief secretary (ACS) local government and community development department.

“Senior officers’ postings are now being decided on the instructions of the principal secretary to chief minister instead of the chief secretary,” an official said.

Published in Dawn, December 7th, 2020