Cabinet body decides to close down SCBL

KARACHI The cabinet committee has recommended the winding-up of Sindh Cooperative Bank Ltd (SCBL), suggesting golden handshake to over 60 employees of the bank or to absorb them in recently established Sindh Bank, The Nation learnt on Sunday. The recommendations of ministerial committee would be presented in the next meeting of the provincial cabinet. The Sindh Cooperative Bank Ltd has been non-functional since 90s as millions of rupees were still a liability, which were borrowed by growers through agricultural cooperative and housing societies but they had not pay the amount back so far. The Sindh Cabinet in its meeting on January 29, 2011, formed a three member ministerial committee comprising of MQMs Parliamentary Leader in Sindh Assembly, Syed Sardar Ahmed, Finance Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Agriculture Minister Syed Ali Nawaz Shah, with a task to give its suggestions on the revival or liquidation of the Sindh Provincial Cooperative Bank Ltd. In this regard, Syed Sardar Ahmed, who is member of cabinet committee to suggest measures for Sindh Cooperative Bank Ltd, told The Nation that the committee has finalised its findings, which had been forwarded to Services and General Administration Department for keeping it in the agenda of the next meeting of Sindh Cabinet. He confirmed that the cabinet committee in its finding has declared the Sindh Cooperative Bank Ltd as liability on provincial exchequer and recommended for winding-up the cooperative bank system. He added that the committee also recommended for adopting a new system of cooperative finances for agriculturists of the province, adding that proposed system must run based on committees of private growers sans interference and involvement of cooperative department of Sindh Government. According to Sardar Ahmed, the cabinet committee in its report which to be placed before Sindh Cabinet for further action, has recommended for announcing golden handshake for employees of the cooperative bank or absorb them in recently established Sindh Bank ltd. It may be noted here that the previous provincial government led by PML-Q had approved in principal proposal for Liquidation of the Sindh Provincial Cooperative Bank and establishment of Micro Credit Bank in its place, but the proposal could not be materialized due to number of reasons. When contacted, Provincial Secretary of Cooperation Department of Sindh Government Ali Azhar Khan Baloch told The Nation that his department had submitted a proposal for activation of Sindh Cooperative Bank, which discussed by provincial cabinet in its meeting held in January this year. 'If cabinet committee has proposed for winding-up of Cooperative Bank, the financial assets of department, in terms of buildings worth of billions of rupees, could be handed over to Sindh Bank Ltd with 64 employees of department, Provincial Secretary said. He added that billion of rupees worth assets of cooperation department were laying abandon, so it will be good to transfer these assets to Sindh Bank, which can be used as established infrastructure. The Sindh Bank Cooperative Ltd is non-functional since 90s decade as people influential people forming Cooperative societies had borrowed millions of rupees, which yet to be paid by them. The registrations of 158 dormant Cooperative Societies of Karachi had been cancelled after observing all formalities, besides, cancellation of Registration of other dormant Societies is in progress by Cooperation Department.