ISLAMABAD, Sept 1: Chairman National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Danial Aziz on Wednesday said the proposed amendments in the Police Order would be finalized within a month or two, as a consensus in this regard had almost been reached.
He said this while responding to queries of newsmen after speaking at a convention of councillors and Nazims of Thatta district of Sindh province here. The Police Order had been promulgated on August 14, 2002, but its implementation was delayed due to reservations of the provinces.
Mr Aziz said he had called on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday and thoroughly discussed with him matters pertaining to political and administrative amendments in the Local Government Ordinance (LGO). He said the prime minister was keen to see the people's representatives empowered at the gross-roots level.
"We would be able to solve the political issues before the forthcoming local bodies elections by making various amendments in the Local Government Ordinance," Mr Aziz said when asked as to how they would be able to solve the political controversies expected to surface in the forthcoming local bodies elections.
Earlier, speaking at the convention, Mr Aziz said the amendments in the LGO will remove the ongoing controversy between the Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMAs) and the members of the National and provincial assemblies about distribution of powers.
He said the NRB wanted to see harmony between the political leaders and Nazims and councillors in order to enable them to solve the problems of their areas. A few weeks back, he said, as many as 28 MNAs had announced that they would contest the forthcoming local bodies elections from their constituencies.
This, he said, was a good sign and proof of the success of the new system. He said the Nazims could also contest elections for the National and provincial assemblies.
He said the honorarium issue of the women union councillors would also be solved very soon. Besides, he said, with the implementation of the National Programme 6,022 union councils would be provided a development fund of Rs0.6 million each before next June for various programmes.
He said the new system was facing many problems but these were limited compared to those faced during its introduction. The issues being encountered at present would not be there next year, he said.
He also asked the Nazims to use their powers for solving the problems of the people. In response to a question, he said the executive district officer (revenue) was subordinate to the district Nazim.
Besides, he said, the district Nazims could fire all those Patwaris, who were committing corruption. Earlier, a number of Nazims and women councillors told the NRB chief that like the other three provinces funds should also be provided to the union councils in Sindh.
