Governor Imran Ismail sends Sindh COVID-19 Relief Ordinance 2020 back to provincial govt

KARACHI: Sindh Governor Imran Ismail on Thursday sent the Sindh COVID-19 Relief Ordinance 2020 back to the provincial government, according to a statement from the Governor House.

Ismail, who tested positive for the deadly virus back on April 27 after spending 10 days meeting a host of people and attending meetings, also apprised the provincial government of his reservations against the Sindh COVID-19 Relief Ordinance 2020.

It is important to note that the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020 mandates a 20% reduction in school fees, protection of employees against mass layoffs, and offers relief in utility bills.

The governor raised the objection that the Sindh government could not provide any concession to people in the utility bills, saying power was directed to the province from the national grid and that the PPP leadership did not have the authority to make such decisions.

According to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority Ordinance, 2002, matters pertaining to gas were also under Centre's jurisdiction, he added. Only the federal government has the authority to provide any kind of relief in electricity and gas bills, he added.

Sindh should highlight Centre's efforts

The federal government, the governor added, was working on measures to provide relief to the public and it was also for the people of Sindh.

The Sindh government should focus on highlighting the Centre's efforts, Ismail said, adding that Rs27 billion had been distributed to deserving people under the ruling PTI's Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme.

Relief for power bills was already given to almost 45,000 industries and 700,000 commercial users and a similar one was approved for small traders, he noted. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has also eased conditions on loan repayment, he said.

Pakistan's small traders and industries have been provided relief to help in the disbursement of salaries amid virus-hit economy, Ismail said, adding that the federal government had given 500,000 face masks, almost 300,000 surgical masks, more than 300,000 N-95 masks, and 77,992 testing kits to the Sindh government.

The federal government's efforts for the people should be appreciated, he stated.

PTI's Naqvi to challenge ordinance in court

Late last month, the leader of Opposition in the provincial assembly, Firdous Shamim Naqvi had announced to challenge Sindh government's COVID-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020 in court, saying he "strongly condemned" the legislation.

"I'm seeing such legislation, without any thought or planning whatsoever, for the first time," said Naqvi, who like Ismail is associated with the ruling PTI. "This ordinance is against the principles of justice. It's just to garner praise. It will be very difficult to implement."

Naqvi had further claimed that 80% of the federation would be affected by the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance and it was all on the Sindh government. "How will institutions pay their employees if they do not make earnings during the lockdown?

"Saeen sarkar has learnt to say 'Ya Hussain' on other's assets from Asif Ali Zardari," the PTI leader had added, mocking the Sindh government.

'Under guise of 18th Amendment'

Naqvi's remarks had come a day after his fellow party member, Khurrum Sher Zaman, had ratcheted up the tensions with the provincial government and called for the resignation of Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho.

Zaman had claimed that incidents at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and Dr Ruth K. M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi were "sources of embarrassment to the government".

"We're continuously telling the Sindh government not to spread fear among the people," he had commented, adding that the province's biggest hospitals did not have facilities to treat people.

"Every patient is being categorised as a corona patient," he had alleged but did not provide any basis for his claim. "The government of Sindh has forgotten its responsibilities under the guise of the 18th Amendment," the PTI leader had added, noting that a health emergency should be declared in Sindh and the relevant minister — Dr Pechuho — removed.