Call for empowering local bodies

Speakers stress need for devolving powers from provinces to local governments

ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday stressed the need for holding local government (LG) elections in Islamabad, Punjab and Sindh and empowering the elected local bodies.

The seminar on “Citizens’ Engagement and Accountability for an Effective Local Government System” was organised by Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE) with support by the USAID.

PML-N MNA Daniyal Aziz said there was a need to devolve administrative and financial powers from provincial governments to elected local bodies in spirit of the 18th Amendment. He called for replacing the colonial system of bureaucracy with a people-friendly local government system where citizens are involved in the decision making processes.



Aziz said improving governance at the lowest tier of the government would lead the country to prosperity.

PML-N MNA from Islamabad Tariq Fazal Choudhry said the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Local Government Bill had been passed by Parliament and LG elections were going to be held in the whole of ICT for the first time. He said many functions of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and ICT Administration would be handed over to elected bodies after the elections.

Former Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) secretary Hasan Muhammad Khan said lack of coordination and cooperation between ECP and provincial governments was the main reason for delay in LG elections in Punjab and Sindh.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) MNA Shehryar Afridi said the main responsibility of parliamentarians was legislation and not the development work at the local level, which should be done by the local bodies.



He said there should be performance-based competition between political parties rather than arguing over non-issues. He said the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had articulated a financially-empowered local government system, under which development funds are being provided to village and neighbourhood councils.

Journalist Asma Sherazi said the 2002 local government system had delivered effectively at the grassroots and called for developing the capacity of local bodies.

Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) National Coordinator Mudassir Rizvi said the K-P government had not done the homework to hold the elections and thus the whole exercise exhibited massive mismanagement.

He recommended holding local government elections in Punjab and Sindh in phases to ensure peaceful and transparent polling process.

DTCE Chief Operating Officer Azhar Bashir Malik presented their research findings recommending empowering members of the union council (UC) to table a vote of no confidence motion against a UC chairperson and vice-chairperson. Other recommendations included making elected representatives a part of the local government commission and local government finance commission; establishment of facilities at polling stations for people with disabilities; and creation of a district service cadre.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 5^th, 2015.