Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad has approved an amendment proposed by the Sindh Assembly in the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) Act 1989, devolving powers to Sindh Chief Minister to reconstitute the commission and appoint its chairman and members for five-year terms.

The Sindh Assembly passed the amendment two weeks ago and had sent it to the governor for approval. The governor obliged, and sent it back to the provincial government for implementation.

After the approval, the act will now be called the “Sindh Public Service Commission (Amendment) Act, 2008.” The word “Governor” would be substituted with the word “Government” – with the Sindh chief minister as the executive authority of the provincial setup.

Under the new amendment, “the SPSC Chairman or a member shall hold the office for a single non-renewable term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office; provided that the Government may in its discretion reconstitute the Commission and reappoint the Chairman and members within a period of thirty days from the date on which this sub-section comes into force”.

The amendment was passed in the Sindh Assembly with majority votes. After the approval of this amendment, the appointment of Javed Ashraf Hussain as Chairman of the SPSC, who was appointed by the caretaker chief minister for a five-year term, stands cancelled.

The amendment was aimed at nullifying the notification issued by the caretaker chief minister who had appointed former federal secretary Javed Ashraf Hussain in place of former chairman Mohammed Hassan Bhutto as head of the SPSC, 30 days before the expiry of the official tenure of the latter.
Source: The News
Date:4/29/2008