Civic issues: ‘LG system better for Islamabad’s future’
Bokhari holds bureaucracy responsible for creating ‘tremendous’ problems.
ISLAMABAD:
Parliamentarians and Islamabad residents demanded a local government system for the city in order to get speedy resolution of civic problems, particularly in the rural parts of the capital.
However, it is likely that more than a million people of Islamabad would remain deprived of the fundamental right to elect representatives for local bodies, as the government does not seem in this regard
Bureaucrats are currently running the affairs of the capital city, who some allege, are creating more problems than they solve.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, PPP senator from Islamabad, held the bureaucracy responsible for creating problems for the city.
He said that a local government law was enacted in 1979, but the bureaucracy did not allow it to be implemented.
“We want a uniform local government system across the country, which should also be enforced in Islamabad”, he said.
Every province has made changes to the Local Governance Ordinance introduced by General Pervez Musharraf in 2001, but no one has introduced such a legislation in the parliament on behalf of the residents of the capital. When asked whether he would take up the task, Bokhari declined, saying that he was not a member of the cabinet. He was of the view that the bureaucracy’s supremacy would come to an end if an effective local government system was put in place.
“We have numerous civic problems, ranging from sewage to dilapidated streets. But we have no representative who can get them resolved,” complained Banaras Khan, a resident of Malpur. “We have to wait for hours to meet officials outside the offices of Islamabad to get the smallest of issues resolved. The bureaucrats always behave rudely with us,” he added.
“We should have elected local body representatives to fight for our rights.” “National Assembly candidates visit us at the time of elections, never to be seen again once they are elected,” said Abdul Qadoos of Bhara Kahu. He said they have no gas, no proper roads or sewage system. “Sometimes it feels like we are still living in the Stone Age, fetching water from far flung areas,” he added.
The powerful bureaucracy of Islamabad has always vetoed proposals to introduce a system of local government to the city.
The local government bodies introduced across the country by Gen Musharraf somehow succeeded in bringing elected representatives closer to voters, but the capital city was deprived of this opportunity.
Some believe that the system brought record development work at the gross root level.
It should be noted that billions of funds, which are allocated for development in Islamabad, do not seem to trickle down to the territory’s rural parts.
Moreover, the future of Islamabad is ambiguous even after the devolution of powers to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. The provincial governments were given the power to amend their local government systems, while the city remains incapable of developing its own legislation in this regard.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2011.
Parliamentarians and Islamabad residents demanded a local government system for the city in order to get speedy resolution of civic problems, particularly in the rural parts of the capital.
However, it is likely that more than a million people of Islamabad would remain deprived of the fundamental right to elect representatives for local bodies, as the government does not seem in this regard
Bureaucrats are currently running the affairs of the capital city, who some allege, are creating more problems than they solve.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari, PPP senator from Islamabad, held the bureaucracy responsible for creating problems for the city.
He said that a local government law was enacted in 1979, but the bureaucracy did not allow it to be implemented.
“We want a uniform local government system across the country, which should also be enforced in Islamabad”, he said.
Every province has made changes to the Local Governance Ordinance introduced by General Pervez Musharraf in 2001, but no one has introduced such a legislation in the parliament on behalf of the residents of the capital. When asked whether he would take up the task, Bokhari declined, saying that he was not a member of the cabinet. He was of the view that the bureaucracy’s supremacy would come to an end if an effective local government system was put in place.
“We have numerous civic problems, ranging from sewage to dilapidated streets. But we have no representative who can get them resolved,” complained Banaras Khan, a resident of Malpur. “We have to wait for hours to meet officials outside the offices of Islamabad to get the smallest of issues resolved. The bureaucrats always behave rudely with us,” he added.
“We should have elected local body representatives to fight for our rights.” “National Assembly candidates visit us at the time of elections, never to be seen again once they are elected,” said Abdul Qadoos of Bhara Kahu. He said they have no gas, no proper roads or sewage system. “Sometimes it feels like we are still living in the Stone Age, fetching water from far flung areas,” he added.
The powerful bureaucracy of Islamabad has always vetoed proposals to introduce a system of local government to the city.
The local government bodies introduced across the country by Gen Musharraf somehow succeeded in bringing elected representatives closer to voters, but the capital city was deprived of this opportunity.
Some believe that the system brought record development work at the gross root level.
It should be noted that billions of funds, which are allocated for development in Islamabad, do not seem to trickle down to the territory’s rural parts.
Moreover, the future of Islamabad is ambiguous even after the devolution of powers to the provinces under the 18th Amendment. The provincial governments were given the power to amend their local government systems, while the city remains incapable of developing its own legislation in this regard.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 13th, 2011.