THE
(Act VIII of
2014)
C O
N T E N T S
Section Heading
1. Short
title and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. The
Authority.
4. The
Board.
5. Qualifications
of the members.
6. Additional Director General.
7. Powers and functions.
8. Delegation.
9. Committees.
10. Employees of the Authority.
11. Directions to the Authority.
12. Fund.
13. Budget and accounts.
14. Audit.
15. Annual report.
16. Members and employees to be public
servants.
17. Immunity of the Authority and its
employees.
18. Act to prevail over other laws.
19. Rules.
20. Regulations.
21. Power to remove difficulties.
[1]THE PUNJAB
REPRODUCTIVE, MATERNAL, NEO-NATAL AND CHILD HEALTH AUTHORITY ACT 2014
(Act
VIII of 2014)
[27 March 2014]
An Act to provide for the establishment of the
Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal and Child Health Authority.
Preamble.– Whereas it is expedient to
establish an Authority for purposes of providing a legal framework for managing
affairs of employees and staff of national program for primary healthcare and
family planning and for ancillary matters;
It is enacted as
follows:-
1. Short title and commencement.– (1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Reproductive,
Maternal, Neo-natal and Child Health Authority Act 2014.
(2) It shall extend to whole of the
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.– In this Act–
(a) “Act”
means the Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal and Child Health Authority
Act 2014;
(b) “Additional
Director General” means the Additional Director General Health Services,
Primary Health Care and Family Planning,
(c) “asset” means the movable and immovable
property owned or controlled by the Authority;
(d) “Authority”
means the Punjab Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal and Child Health Authority
established under the Act;
(e) “Board”
means the Board of Governors constituted under the Act;
(f) “Chairperson”
means the Chairperson of the Board;
(g) “Director General” means Director General Health Services,
(h) “employee”
means the employee or staff of national program for family planning and primary
health program serving in the Punjab under the administrative control of
provincial program management unit or a person appointed by the Authority,
other than a civil servant working in the provincial program management unit or
in the Authority on transfer, posting or deputation;
(i) “Government” means Government of the
(j) “member” means a member of the Board; and
(k) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules or regulations.
3. The Authority.– (1) The
Government shall, by notification, establish the Punjab Reproductive, Maternal,
Neo-natal and Child Health Authority.
(2) The Authority shall be a body corporate,
having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and
dispose of any property and shall sue and be sued by the said name.
(3) The Authority shall not enter into any
agreement or memorandum of understanding without prior general or special
approval of the Government.
(4) The Authority shall not acquire or dispose of
any immovable property without prior permission in writing of the Government.
(5) A person shall not enter upon or in any way
use the assets without written approval of the Authority.
4. The Board.– (1) The
Authority shall be managed and supervised by the Board of Governors consisting
of the following:-
|
(a) |
Minister for Health, |
Chairperson |
|
(b) |
Secretary to the Government, Health Department; |
Vice Chairperson |
|
(c) |
two members of the Provincial Assembly of
the |
Members |
|
(d) |
Secretary to the Government, Finance Department; |
Member |
|
(e) |
Secretary to the Government, Law and
Parliamentary Affairs Department; |
Member |
|
(f) |
Secretary to the Government, Planning and Development
Department; |
Member |
|
(g) |
Secretary to the Government, Population Welfare Department; |
Member |
|
(h) |
Special Secretary to the Government, Health
Department; |
Member |
|
(i) |
Director General; |
Member |
|
(j) |
Additional Director General; |
Member/Secretary |
|
(k) |
three persons including at least one woman from civil society to
be nominated by the Government; and |
Members |
|
(l) |
two public health specialists to be nominated by the Government. |
Members |
(2) The Chairperson may, for a meeting of the
Board or for a specific matter under consideration of the Board, co-opt any
other person who is either an elected representative at national or provincial
level, or is a renowned public health or public administration specialist from
private or public sector.
(3) An act or proceedings of the Board shall not
be invalid merely for reason of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of
the Board.
(4) The Board shall meet at such time and place
and shall observe such procedure in regard to transaction of business at its
meetings as may be prescribed and until so prescribed as may be directed by the
Chairperson.
(5) The meetings of the Board shall be presided
over by–
(a) Chairperson;
or
(b) in the absence of the Chairperson, by the Vice Chairperson;
or
(c) in the absence of the Chairperson and the Vice Chairperson,
by such other member as the Chairperson may nominate.
(6) A member of the Board, other than an ex
officio member, shall hold office for a term of three years and may be
re-nominated by the Government for another term.
5. Qualifications of the
members.– No
person shall be nominated, or shall continue to be a member, if he:
(a) is or, at any time, has been convicted of an offence
involving moral turpitude; or
(b) is or, at any time, has been declared insolvent; or
(c) is found to be a lunatic or of unsound mind; or
(d) is a minor; or
(e) has a financial interest in any aspect of the
Authority, or has a conflict of interest, directly or indirectly, with the
Authority.
6. Additional Director
General.– (1) The
Government shall, on the recommendation of the Board, appoint an Additional
Director General.
(2) The Additional Director General shall be the Chief
Operating Officer of the Authority, and shall, subject to the general guidance and
supervision of the Board, perform his functions under the administrative
control of the Director General.
(3) The Additional Director
General shall exercise such powers as are assigned to him by the Board or as
may be prescribed.
(4) The Additional Director General shall–
(a) be a whole-time employee of the Authority;
(b) hold office during the pleasure of the Government;
(c) be the principal accounting officer of the Authority; and
(d) be competent to enter
into contracts on behalf of the Authority in accordance with this Act.
(5) The Government shall determine the terms and
conditions of the service of the Additional Director General.
(6) Notwithstanding the expiration of the term of the
Additional Director General, the
Government may allow him to continue to hold office for a further period of one
year.
(7) Nothing contained in this section shall
preclude the Government from re-appointing the Additional Director General to hold
that office for a period not exceeding three years at a time.
(8) The Additional Director General may resign by
tendering resignation to the Government or may be removed by the Government.
(9) The Additional Director General may, subject
to the approval of the Board–
(a) delegate any of his financial powers to an officer of the
Authority; and
(b) appoint an advisor, including legal advisor, or a consultant
on such terms and conditions and for such period as the Authority may
prescribe.
7. Powers and functions.– (1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act and rules, the Authority may exercise
such powers and perform such functions as may be necessary for carrying out
purposes of the Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the
generality of the provision of subsection (1), the Authority shall–
(a) administer and regulate the affairs of the employees,
including terms and conditions of their services as community based workers;
(b) employ and remove the employees working under its control;
(c) develop and notify, with the approval of the Government, the
terms and conditions of the service of the employees;
(d) take
or cause to be taken such measures as are required for entering into contracts
including concession agreements, granting licenses and other contractual
instruments for the following purposes:-
(i) improving
contraceptive prevalence rate;
(ii) reducing unmet need
for contraception;
(iii) increasing percentage
of women receiving at least four antenatal cares from skilled providers;
(iv) increasing tetanus
toxoid vaccination, skilled birth attendance, institutional deliveries, women
receiving postnatal care and children fully immunized;
(v) increasing percentage of pregnant women knowing at least two
danger signs of pregnancy and percentage of mothers aware of at-least two
benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and early initiation of breast feeding and
exclusive breast feeding;
(vi) increasing percentage
of children, suffering from diarrhoea, treated with oral rehydration solution
and zinc;
(vii) increasing percentage
of mothers able to identify at least two danger signs in early childhood
illness like pneumonia;
(viii) decreasing severe and
moderate wasting prevalence; and
(ix) decreasing prevalence
of anaemia among pregnant women.
(e) develop
and recommend the minimum service delivery standards for reproductive,
maternal, neo-natal and child health and nutrition services, as may be notified
by the Punjab Healthcare Commission under the Punjab Healthcare Commission Act 2010 (XVI of 2010);
(f) play stewardship role in formulation of program policy
guidelines in consultation with the stakeholders;
(g) constitute and
notify the technical advisory groups on different thematic areas for
formulating technical guidelines; and
(h) cause performance audit and internal financial audit to be
conducted pertaining to primary health care and family planning services.
8. Delegation.– The Board may, subject to such conditions as it
deems appropriate, delegate to the Additional Director General or an officer of
the Authority any of its powers or functions under the Act.
9. Committees.– The Board may constitute such committees as it
may deem necessary for carrying out the purposes of the Act.
10. Employees of the Authority.– (1) The Authority may, subject to the approval
of the Board, appoint such persons as it deems necessary for the efficient
performance of its functions under the Act and prescribed terms and conditions
of their service.
(2) The Authority may devise a system to provide
benefits in lieu of pension.
11. Directions to the Authority.– (1) The Government may give general or special directions to the
Authority and the Authority shall comply with such directions.
(2) The Authority shall immediately act to rectify
any neglect in the performance of its functions when so informed by the
Government.
12. Fund.– (1) There shall be established a fund known as the
Reproductive, Maternal, Neo-natal, Child Health Authority Fund, which shall
vest in the Authority and which shall be utilized by the Authority to meet all
its expenses and charges in connection with the discharge of its functions and
powers under the Act, including the payment of salaries and remuneration to the
employees.
(2) The Authority shall establish an escrow
account in a scheduled bank approved by the Government and the account shall be
collectively operated by the authorized representatives of the Authority.
(3) All monies credited in the Fund shall be
deposited with the bank approved by the Government.
(4) The Fund shall be financed by–
(a) amounts or grants received from the Federal Government;
(b) amounts or grants from received from the Government;
(c) amounts received from any other body or organization;
(d) proceeds of all charges and income from sale of assets, and
any recovery made under the Act; and
(e) such other sum as may be received by the Authority.
(5) The Authority shall not obtain any loan and
shall not incur any debt.
13. Budget and accounts.– (1) The Additional Director General shall place the annual budget
statement of the Authority before the Board for approval before the
commencement of a financial year.
(2) The Authority shall maintain proper accounts
and other records relating to its financial affairs including its income and
expenditures statement in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Within three months of the end of each
financial year, the Authority, in the prescribed manner, shall cause to be
prepared financial year statements of account of the Authority.
14. Audit.– (1) The Auditor General of
(2) The Government, in addition to the audit under
subsection (1), may cause the annual accounts of the Authority audited, in the
prescribed manner, by a chartered accountant or a firm of chartered
accountants.
15. Annual
report.– (1) The Authority shall, within three
months of the close of a financial year, submit to the Government an annual
report.
(2) The report shall consist of–
(a) a statement of accounts of the Authority;
(b) a comprehensive statement of the performance and activities
of the Authority during the preceding financial year; and
(c) such other matters as
may be prescribed and as the Authority may consider appropriate.
16. Members and employees to be public servants.– The Chairman, Vice
Chairman, members, Additional Director General and employees of the Authority
shall, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions
of the Act, be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of
the Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860).
17. Immunity of the Authority and its employees.– No
suit, prosecution or any other legal proceedings shall lie against the
Authority, the Chairman, Vice Chairman, the Additional Director General or any
employee of the Authority, in respect of anything done or intended to be done
in good faith under the Act.
18. Act to prevail over other laws.– In the event of any conflict or inconsistency between a provision
of the Act and a provision of any other law, the provisions of the Act shall,
to the extent of such conflict or inconsistency, prevail.
19. Rules.– The
Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out purposes of the Act.
20. Regulations.– (1) Subject to the Act and the rules,
the Authority may frame regulations to give effect to the provisions of the
Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the foregoing powers,
such regulations may provide for appointment of its employees and other
persons, terms and conditions of their service and performance of functions by
the Authority.
21. Power to remove difficulties.– If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of the
Act, the Government may, by notification, not inconsistent with the provisions
of this Act, remove the difficulty within a period of two years from the
commencement of this Act.
[1]This Act was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 20 March
2014; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 25 March 2014; and, was
published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 27 March 2014, pages 2939-43.