KARACHI: Local govt elections in May, June: Waraich
KARACHI, March 22: The Minister of State for Local Government and Rural Development, Zafar Waraich, said on Tuesday that the local bodies’ elections would be held in May/June this year, while clarifying that there would be no further extension in the term of nazims.
He was speaking to journalists at the conclusion of a 10-day training course on “Local Government System and Concept of Devolution” organized by the Municipal Training and Research Institute Karachi (MTRI) that started on March 14.
Mr Waraich disclosed that the decision to replace nazims with administrators before local body polls was still under consideration.
“The next local bodies polls will be held within the next three to four months, but whether these would be on party or non-party basis was yet to be decided,” he said.
To a query, he conceded that several government functionaries were of different opinions on the appointment of administrators in place of nazims before the next local bodies polls, as there was no provision of such a possibility in the law. It is an important issue and any decision to this affect would be taken within the next few days, he added.
Earlier, speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, the minister said the initiative taken to devolve power to the grassroots level was based on proven reform theories successfully experimented in other countries.
The fundamental objective was to change the system of governance, as there was a direct nexus between misgovernment and poverty.
He maintained that the local government system had earned remarkable achievements, and had received praise not only from within the country, but also from Pakistanis living abroad.
The success of this system could be measured from the development and restructuring work, initiated by district governments in the last four years, he added.
The magnitude of the sort of development, Mr Waraich maintained, was unparalleled in the country’s history.
He, however, indicated that the presence of nazims could affect the outcome of local body polls since EDO’s, DCO’s and MD’s of various governmental departments came under a nazim.
The minister recalled that in 1999, the government had announced a far-reaching reform agenda for restructuring state institutions through the establishment of a decentralized system of local government.
The new system was designed to ensure citizen involvement in planning services and provide a mechanism for citizen oversight of implementation.
He said the erstwhile system of local government needed fundamental changes as it was neither participatory nor representative nor accountable.
A decision was made to bring changes by taking immediate steps for restructuring the bureaucratic setup and decentralizing administrative authority to the district level and below; rationalizing administrative structures for improving efficiency and public participation in decision making; provide financial authority to district and tehsil-level officers; introduce performance incentive systems to reward efficient officials and improve services delivery; and eliminate delays in decision-making and disposal of business through enhanced administrative and financial authority.
Naib-Nazim Tariq Hassan regretted that lack of authority over powers had restricted the naib-nazims from fulfilling their obligations. He suggested that local government officials should be appointed by the National Reconstruction Bureau. This could help the nazims and other local government officials in addressing significant issues within their respective jurisdictions, he added.
Mr Hassan said reduction of councillors’ seats from 21 to 13 would severely affect the progress of local government system.
He congratulated successful participants of the course, besides congratulating the MTRI faculty and staff for successfully organizing the training course.
Later, Zafar Waraich distributed certificates among participants of the training course. —APP/PPI
