Local government representatives term 2017 a bleak year

Say provincial government has made the new LG system inefficient by not letting them work

LAHORE: The Local Government (LG) representatives from both ruling and opposition parties have termed 2017 a bleak year for the LG system, saying the provincial government has made the new mechanism inefficient and ineffective by not letting them work.

Punjab Chief Minister’s Adviser and former Lahore Mayor and Union Council (UC) 107 Chairman Khawaja Ahmad Hassaan, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that although some stability was witnessed in the new system, the current year was not an ideal year for LGs in the province.



Most LG representatives, including chairmen, vice-chairmen and councillors, who are struggling for powers were aware of their roles in the new system at the time of elections. Roles and powers of all LG representatives are clearly defined in the Punjab Local Government Act, 2013.

If some public representatives believed they were not getting their due role, he suggested, they should sit on the negotiating table to solve the issue. “In any system, there is a single leader to make the system successful. However, there is a need to create some provision in the law so all LG representatives can enjoy some advisory role in the development of their areas,” he said. He added that they should have some say in the development process of their constituencies.

Lahore Deputy Mayor Chaudhry Bilal said 2017 remained an ugly year for the LGs in Punjab. He said even after winning election from their constituencies, all LG representatives were unsatisfied with their roles in the new LG system. “Neither is the provincial government willing to accept LG representatives’ demands nor are public departments paying attention to their complaints and suggestions,” he said. “I believe the new LG system cannot thrive until the provincial government gives it the autonomy.”

Punjab Councillors Ittehad Lahore President Nadeem Saqib Butt said 2017 was the worst year for councillors. “We are facing criticism from both citizens and the government. The citizens are cursing us because we cannot solve their problems for which they elected us. The government is also treating us as stepchildren and not paying any attention to our demands. We have staged a series of protests in favour of our demands during 2017, but all have gone in vain.”



He also underscored without empowering councilors, the government cannot make this system successful. “Everywhere in the world, councillors or public representatives in the lower tier work as the eyes and ears of the government. They always remained available to locals perform the function of a bridge between lower and upper tiers of the governments. They know the common and pressing problems of the community. But in Punjab, the situation is entirely different as most public representatives have no say in the system.

UC-203 Chairman Zahid Bukhari said the new local government system has started its function in 2017. The system has several pros and cons which are being surfaced every day. He also underlined that there was a lot of room for improvement in the new system as public representatives were toothless and could not force any public sector department or company to solve problems in their areas.

The government should make public sector departments and utility companies accountable to LG representatives if it really wanted to strengthen the new LG system, he advised.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2017.