Proposal fails to get CM's nod

The Chief Minister of Sindh has not given nod to the suggestions of making provincial ministers and members of the Sindh Assembly accountable before the Anti-Corruption Department (ACD), sources told TheNation on Tuesday.
Sources said that Anti-Corruption Department a few months ago in its proposal sent to the Chief Minister has suggested for amendments in the relevant rules to bring improvement in process against corruption in the public sector, but such proposal has not been approved by the Chief Minister of the province yet.
Among several other proposals pertaining to amendments in Schedule-I of the
Sindh Enquiries and Anti-Corruption Rules, 1993, the E&ACE had suggested that a new category of ‘public servants’ should be included in the schedule, comprising MPAs and provincial ministers, and the E&ACE could initiate cases of corruption against them with approval of the chief minister. Sources in the department told TheNation that E&ACE Department had sent the proposed amendments to the Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah for approval, but it has not been approved yet. After the chief minister approves the proposed amendments, these would be sent to the law department for getting them approved from the Sindh Assembly.
In its proposed amendments the E&ACE has proposed abolishment of district committees of the E&ACE, and recommended that only the provincial committee, headed by the Sindh chief secretary, should be kept intact with appointing the chairman of the E&ACE as its secretary.
According to a proposal the chief secretary should be made a competent authority for deciding or directing to initiate corruption cases against administrative heads (secretaries or heads of all administrative departments or bodies) of the province, and district nazims and naib nazims. While, the chairman of the E&ACE should be empowered to give permission for initiating cases against bureaucrats of grades 17 to 20 (excluding administrative heads), and taluka/town nazims and naib nazims. Similarly, the E&ACE has proposed that its director and deputy directors should be made a competent authority for dealing with the government employees working from grade 9 to 16, and from grade 1 to 8, respectively.