City affairs: Local reps’ committee to overlook WSSP’s performance

Recommendations approved by CM; previously WSSP BoD was responsible

PESHAWAR: To improve performance of Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP) by keeping a check on its performance, the provincial government has approved the formation of a committee comprising local government representatives. WSSP is an independent firm funded by the provincial government to offer sanitation services in the city.

A high-level committee, comprising Minister for Local Government Inayatullah Khan and Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai, among others, recommended a committee be formed to check operations of WSSP. The high-level committee was formed to monitor operations of local government sections.

The recommendation of a committee for WSSP and Water and Sanitation Service Company (WSSC) was approved by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak.

New roles

The meeting in which the recommendations were approved was held on July 13.

A copy of the minutes of the meeting is available with The Express Tribune. It stated the district nazim will be provided access to WSSP’s performance dashboard. The implementation and follow-up mechanism for accountability shall be developed by the local government department. Previously, WSSP Board of Directors (BoD) would oversee all sorts of workings of WSSP.

The recommendations also proposed the nazim of Tehsil Municipal Administration, falling in the geographic jurisdiction of WSSP and WSSC which is established outside the provincial metropolis, may be declared member of the BoDs of WSSP/WSSC.

Approval

A media briefing was held about the approval of the recommendations at CM House on Saturday. On the occasion, Khattak said the government has felt the need of including local representatives to the committee to check if everything on behalf of WSSP was going well. He added the committee would check the performance and would report to the relevant quarters about it.

WSSP has always been in the cross hairs of opposition members of the local government in District Council Hall’s sessions of Peshawar. It has been criticised for its poor performance, particularly in outskirts of the city.

Malik Firdous, a member of Peshawar District Council from the opposition benches told The Express Tribune, the committee constituted was just a poor development and it could not improve the performance of WSSP. He alleged WSSP was just confined to specific areas where they were working and have neglected the rural areas of the city.

WSSP works in Peshawar while WSSC is setup in the six divisional headquarters of K-P.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2016.