ISLAMABAD, July 15, 2019: The Provincial Assembly of Sindh addressed its entire agenda appearing on orders of the day, says Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) in its Daily Factsheet on Monday.
Following are key observations of the House proceedings during 17th sitting of the 5th session:
Members’ Participation
- The House met for two hours and 49 minutes; however, the proceedings remained suspended for three minutes due to prayer break.
- The sitting started at 1450 hours against the scheduled time of 1400 hours.
- The Speaker presided over the sitting for an hour and 20 minutes while the Deputy Speaker chaired the rest of the proceedings.
- The Leaders of the House did not attend the proceedings.
- The Leader of the Opposition attended the sitting for two hours and 44 minutes.
- As many as 65 MPAs (39%) were present at outset and 87 (53%) at the adjournment of the sitting.
- The Parliamentary Leaders of TLP, MMAP and PPPP attended the proceedings.
- Seven out of nine minority lawmakers attended the sitting.
Output
- The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs laid the Budget Execution Report for third quarter of fiscal year 2018-19 which ended on March 31, 2019.
- The Deputy Speaker announced the assent of the Governor to the Sindh (Repeal of the Police Act, 1861 and Revival of Police Order 2002) (Amendment) Bill, 2019.
Representation and Responsiveness
- Sponsored by a PPPP lawmaker, the Chair admitted an adjournment Motion for debate on July 22, 2019 which was regarding devaluation of Pakistani currency.
- A privilege motion of PTI lawmaker was not admitted after being opposed by the government.
- The Minister for Local Government responded to five out of six starred questions. In addition, the lawmakers asked 25 supplementary questions.
- The Ministers responded to five Calling Attention Notices appearing on the agenda. The responded CANs were regarding failure of Lyari Development Authority (LDA) Scheme 42, improper sanitation and drinking water facilities at schools in Karachi, shortage of water in several areas of Karachi, non-observation of closing time by marriage halls and illegal encroachment by the pushcart and cabin owners in Karachi city.
Order and Institutionalization
- Three lawmakers spoke on Points of Orders consuming ten minutes of the proceedings.
- PTI lawmakers protested for five minutes during the proceedings when the Chair rejected a privilege motion of one of their colleagues.
- A PTI lawmaker pointed out the quorum at 1630 hours which led to the suspension of the proceedings for five minutes.
- The House was adjourned to meet again on July 16, 2019 (Tuesday) at 1400 hours.
Transparency
- ‘Orders of the Day’ was available to the legislators, observers and public.
- The attendance of lawmakers was available to the media and observers.
This Daily Factsheet is based on direct observation of the Assembly proceedings conducted by Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), a member organization of FAFEN. Errors and omissions are excepted