'Most of IMC’s equipment remains out of order'

Says keeping capital clean with only 30% of machines is a challenge

ISLAMABAD: A vast majority of heavy machines of the local government of the federal capital are currently out of order, severely hampering its efforts to clean the city, while the absence of a dedicated finance department has stopped the metropolitan corporation from effectively utilising its funds.

This was stated by Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Mayor Ansar Aziz on Monday in the inaugural meeting of the newly-formed Local Government Commission (LGC).

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Capital Development Authority (CDA) Affairs Ali Nawaz Awan presided over the LGC meeting at the Pakistan-China Convention Centre on Monday. Senator Seemi Ezdi, MNA Raja Khurram Nawaz — both parliamentarians from the federal capital, technocrat members Ali Bukhari and Tayyaba Ibrahim attended the meeting. Members of the opposition in the national assembly and Senate, Raja Pervez Ashraf and Mushahid Hussain Sayed respectively, did not show up.

“Maintaining cleanliness in the capital with only 30 per cent of machinery in working condition is a challenge,” the mayor explained in his briefing.

He added that many IMC employees are currently protesting the delayed payment of their salaries.

Mayor Aziz continued that when the IMC was created, the CDA had a total of 18,000 employees. Of these, around 11,000 were transferred to the IMC but more have yet to join.

Even though the IMC had started functioning and services of thousands of employees had been transferred to it, the elected local government remains financially powerless and is dependent on the CDA to disburse their salaries.

Subsequently, any delay on part of CDA to release salaries prompts IMC workers to protest all the while bringing a bad name to the corporation.

The members of the commission asked the mayor why is he not using funds which are already available with the IMC. Aziz replied that unless the finance and administration departments are fully handed over to the IMC by the CDA, it cannot utilise funds — even those which it does have.

However, no official from either CDA nor the interior ministry was present to explain the distribution of resources between the authority and the IMC.

LGC Chairman Awan strongly censured the CDA and interior ministry for the absence of their representatives from the meeting and directed them to ensure their presence in the next meeting.

The LGC had been created by the interior ministry in December 2019 after approval from the federal cabinet. The nine-member LGC has been set up for five years. It has been tasked with conducting annual inspections of the local government in the federal capital.

The commission will report to the federal government apart from directing audits and resolve issues of the local government, IMC and union councils that they have with any other government body or departments.

LGC has been granted such powers that on its recommendation, the federal government could suspend the mayor, deputy mayor, chairman and vice-chairman for six months on any kind of charges and if found convicted, they could be removed from their seats.

It could launch a probe into any matter related to IMC while it could also send any recommendations to the federal government for taking action against an elected representative.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2020.