Devolution in the Northern Province

they!are!particularly!acute!in!the!Northern!Province!because!of!the!political!context!in!which!it!
operates.
50! These! administrative! stresses! will! only! continue! manifest! themselves! more!
prominently,!as!the!Northern!Provincial!Council’s!continues!to!assert!itself,!while!pushing!the!
Thirteenth!Amendment’s!framework!in!the!pursuit!of!greater!devolution!of!power.!!
One! such! issue! relates! to! the! lack! of! an! institutional! mechanism! to! support! the! Council! in!
drafting!statutes.!At!present,!the!Chief!Secretary’s!Secretariat!of!the!Northern!Province!allows!a!
cadre9allocation! for! a! legal! of>icer! charged! with! “providing! legal! consultancy! services! [on]!
provincial!matters”
51.!However,!this!of>ice!is!limited!by!scope!to!advising!the!Chief!Secretary’s!
Secretariat!on!issues!relating!to!contracts!and!lease!agreements!routinely!entered!into!for,!and!
on!behalf!of,!the!Provincial!Council.!Thus,!the!Council!itself!relies!on!the!support!of!its!members!
who!are!lawyers,!the!Chief!Minister,!the!Chairman,!and!other!senior!lawyers!and!academics!who!
volunteer!their!services!to!the!NPC.
52!This!reliance!on!ad!hoc!assistance!from!various!individuals!
leads!to!considerable!delays!and!drastically!reduces!the!number!of!statutes!that!are!enacted.
53!!
Drafting! provincial! statutes,! which! is! on! one! hand! a! specialised! skill! not! part! of! general! legal!
training,!also!requires!on!the!other!hand!a!unique!understanding!of!the!relevant!constitutional!
provisions,! judicial! pronouncements,! national! policies,! and! other! administrative!
arrangements.
54! Accordingly,! any! statute9drafting! mechanism! should! have! the! capacity! and!
resources! to! undertake! research! into! such! areas.! In! addition,! for! reasons! of! ef>iciency! and!
accessibility,! the! mechanism! must! also! be! structured! within! the! institution! of! the! provincial!
assembly!secretariat!itself.!!
Recommendations.
The. Northern. Provincial. Council! should! establish! a! dedicated! unit! to! support! the!
Council! in! drafting! Statutes.! The! unit! would! act! as! the! provincial! equivalent! to! legal!
draftsman’s!department!in!the!central!government.!The!unit!should!also!include!staff!to!
assist! the! Board! of! Ministers! on! research! for! issues.! The! unit! can! be! established! by! a!
Provincial! Council! Statute! in! terms! of! Section! 17(2)! of! the! Provincial! Councils! Act.‐ 55!
Employees! of! this! unit! should! be! insulated! from! political! pressure! and! should! not! be!
allowed!to!engage!in!the!political!activities!of!any!political!party!for!a!stipulated!period!
50
See further Chapter 2.3 above.
51
Governor’s Secretariat, ‘Operational Information- Northern Provincial Council’ (n.d.): p.22 last accessed 9 March 2015; Also See ‘Key functions of Chief Secretaries
Secretariat’ last
accessed 9 March 2015.
52
Interview with Justice Wigneshwaran,18 December 2014, at the Chief Minister’s residence; Interview with
Chairman of the Council S.V.K. Sivagnanam, 19 December 2014, at the Assembly premises
53
Interviews with several officials in the Northern Provincial Council indicated that there is considerable delay
in the drafting process. Since beginning functioning in October 2013 until February 2015 the Northern
Provincial Council had only passed 5 Statutes.
54
See discussion in Finance Chapter relating to the challenges faced by the Northern Provincial Council in
drafting the finance statute.
! 55 In terms of Article 154Q(d) of the Constitution such a unit could be set up by an act of Parliament, however
setting it up through a Statute is more advisable as it gives the Northern Provincial more control over the process
which would allow them to design a unit which best meets their needs in a short period of time.
! 18