QUETTA: Federal Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiative, Islamabad has sought the comments of the Government of Balochistan on draft CPEC Authority Act, 2020.
Official sources said here on Monday that the Article 4 about composition of the Authority, the Draft Act proposes that the Authority should have six members while the Government of Balochistan proposes that there should be a member each from all federating units.
Article 5 about appointment of Chairperson of the Authority proposes that the Chairman of the Authority shall be appointed by the Prime Minister while Government of Balochistan proposes that while the Prime Minister shall appoint the Chairperson of the Authority, the position of the Chairman should rotate among the provinces.
The minimum qualification and experience of the Chairman shall be spell out clearly in the Act. Article 6 about appointment of the Members proposes that members of the authority shall be appointed by the Prime Minister while Government of Balochistan proposes that the members should be appointed by the federal government on the recommendations of the concerned provincial government.
The members should be high ranking professionals with vast experience in related sub-fields of CPEC.
Article 7 about Chief of Staff (COS) of the Act proposes that a Chief of Staff to the Chairperson should be appointed by the Prime Minister while Government of Balochistan proposes that the idea of creating the position of Chief of Staff is untenable, hence, it has been proposed that this position may be either removed or the title changed to “Vice Chairperson”.
Furthermore, the Vice Chairperson may be nominated from amongst the members on rotation basis as practiced by NEPRA, IRSA and other authorities at federal level.
Article 9 regarding powers and functions of the Authority. Article 9 (1) proposes sweeping powers to the Authority pertaining to identification, implementation and monitoring of projects while the Government of Balochistan proposes that this clause is a violation of the division of powers as enshrined in Article 142 and Article 154 (1) of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The Authority should have powers to identify, implement and monitor projects only related to subjects that are enumerated in the Federal Legislative List I and II. It cannot and should not, identify or manage projects in fields/ sectors that have been devolved to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. Even with regards to subjects falling in Federal Legislative List II, CPEC Authority should be authorized to manage projects only if the Authority is brought under the administrative oversight of the Council of Common Interest (CCI).