ISLAMABAD: Changes in Local Govt Ordinance to strengthen feudalism: speakers
By Our Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Feb 1: Speakers at a seminar here on Tuesday rejected the government's proposed amendments in the Local Government Ordinance, terming it as closed door policy, and said it would further strengthen feudalism
and bureaucracy and politically dis empower women in the country.
The seminar on "Local Government Amendments: A Policy U-Turn" was organized by the Sustainable Development Institute (SDPI). Despite receiving timely invitation, no official from the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) attended the seminar.
The participants, including academicians, representatives from civil society and councillors, were of the view that the proposed amendments were contrary to the spirit of devolution and was a complete policy U-turn regarding the government's earlier outward commitment to devolve power at grass roots level.
PPP Senator Dr Safdar Abbasi observed that the opposition would certainly take up the issue of proposed amendments in the LG ordinance during the current Senate session.
Under sixth schedule, the LG ordinance could not be amended through parliament unless the president gave consent to do so but it could be debated, he added. He also pointed out various flaws in the LG system, introduced in 2001, and said the present system was very centralized and did not empower people.
"There are serious flaws in the demarcation of powers of the district and Tehsil Nazims and clash between provincial and local governments is also evident over the financial allocations and powers." The local government system should be party-based and the prevailing flaws should be removed to devolve power, Mr Abbasi suggested.
The chairperson of women study centre, Quaid-i-Azam University, Dr Farzana Bari, said the local government system was introduced to ensure genuine democracy at the grass roots level, which should be guided by people-centred principles of governance, rights, responsibilities and service-oriented.
She argued against the reduction in the seats of union councils from 21 to 13. Criticizing the whole process of proposing these amendments, she said, "It was very exclusive, non-transparent and non-participatory in which nobody was consulted and it was not even discussed in parliament."
Dr Bari was of the view that the amendments would concentrate power, erode easy access to representatives, curtail the ability of the marginalized groups to contest elections, reduce women's representation to a non-substantive number and would give way to possible elite capture even at the UC level.
It would be a victory of the religious/conservative forces, who were never in favour of allowing women to represent people and be in the public domain, she observed.
"The number of seats should not be reduced, there should be 33 per cent reservation for women at the level of Nazim seats, 33 per cent representation of marginalized groups at all levels of local government structure, direct elections besides TA/DA should be given to all councillors." she demanded.
President of Women Councillors Network, Punjab Sumaira Gul said the proposed amendments would bring negative implications to women, peasants and labourers. She said the marginalized people, including peasants, women and labourers, would suffer the most when there would be a reduction in their representation.
According to the proposed amendments, she said, a district coordination officer (DCO) would not be answerable to the district Nazim, which meant the bureaucracy would be strengthened.
"These amendments would only benefit the bureaucracy and elite," she concluded. SDPI Executive Director Saba Gul Khattak, who presided over the seminar, said that debate on the local government amendments should be conducted in parliament.
