PESHAWAR:
A private firm will take over the city’s municipal services from today. The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) officially handed over the charge to Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar on Wednesday. The move has received criticism from opposition parties which claim local governance could have addressed management problems.
“The provincial government is committed to facilitating the public and rooting out corruption and nepotism from every government department in the province,” said Chief Minister (CM) Pervez Khattak at a ceremony at the CM House.
Great expectations
He added if the venture is successful in Peshawar it would be introduced in other districts as well, stated a handout issued.
According to Khattak, more than 3,000 people employed at the municipal corporation were not able to ensure cleanliness in the provincial capital. Therefore the decision to outsource its management and duties to a private firm was taken by the government.
Elaborating further such plans, Khattak said the government has identified a location where they will set up a plant which can generate power from solid waste. He added the project will be initiated soon.
Converting all streetlight in the city to solar energy is also among the government’s plans, said the CM.
Khattak expressed hopes all municipal employees would ensure cleanliness in the city and said they would be rewarded with good salaries and incentives if the employees did a good job. He also thanked the World Bank and USAID for financially supporting the provincial government in its efforts to improve municipal services.
Officials of the Peshawar Development Authority and Municipal Corporation Peshawar as well as Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan, Local Government Secretary Hifzur Rehman and Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar CEO Muhammad Naeem attended the ceremony.
Speaking to the media afterwards, Inayatullah said the provincial government expected the private firm to deliver services to the people as it has been provided the necessary equipment and machinery. “We will not tolerate any interference in the firm’s affairs,” he added.
Lay-offs
However, members of the opposition parties in the K-P Assembly have criticised the government’s decision, saying the move will lead to agitation in municipal employees even though unions are reportedly on board.
Senator Ghulam Ali of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl claimed outsourcing the city’s sanitation system to a private firm will result in creating several difficulties.
“A large number of employees were recruited in the previous government and will now be rendered jobless,” said Ali. The government should have adopted the golden handshake policy and laid the workers in a dignified manner rather than an insulting them by bringing in a private company, the senator added.
He claimed the move would ultimately lead to protests and agitation.
Similarly, Awami National Party Peshawar President Malik Mustafa said the government lacks a mechanism for monitoring municipal employees because many of them remain deputed at the houses of senior government officials.
“The outsourcing will quicken the arrival of the contract system in government department which will further deprive government employees of their rights and cause a sense of deprivation among them,” added Mustafa.
According to Mustafa, if the local government system had been introduced it would have reduced difficulties for the government because under the system, a check and balance can be maintained at the grass-roots level. Then municipal activities can be adequately monitored, he added.
Officials of the Peshawar Development Authority and municipal corporation could not be reached despite repeated attempts.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2014.
COMMENTS (9)
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The outsourcing of municipal government is being done after the provincial government of KPK has already been outsourced to Jahangir Tarin's firm.
What we need at the end a clean and green Peshawar...
Great step indeed. This will clear the minds of workers who just show up to collect their salaries not for the cleaning the city. I hail the Khattack for undertaking this step. Hope this also goes to Karachi as well.
any Tea Boy in my office can be of more service to this nation than Senator Ghulam Ali.. FML!!!!
Please handover law & security of the public to private firm as well ,
it is a good move , because ANP recruited party workers in to municipal corporation, and they are not performing their duties. beside this in every country muncipal services are outsourced. it is a good move.
ANP recruited their party workers in Peshawar municipal corporation, which worsen the situation. And while they got the job, but they never come to perform their duties, it is a great move to outsource these things. in every country municipal services are outsourced.
Well done. Public-pvt partnership is the way forward.
A very smart move. I hope it succeed. Govt employees only know their rights and don't know about their duties.