KOHAT, Sept 10: Shortage of technical staff and interference by district nazims in the affairs of community council boards (CCB) are main factors impeding the transfer of financial powers at the grass-roots level.

This was stated at a public forum jointly organised by the local press club and the district bar association.

Tehsil municipal officer, Shahid Khattak said that while the CCBs Order was enforced several years ago, the TMA had no separate account head. He said that 25 per cent of the funds allocated every year accumulated under a separate head and remained unutilised.

He said that funds were transferred in the new account but so far, they had not received any application for registering a CCB at tehsil level.

He said that TMA lacked technical staff and it was difficult to run a CCB even if one was approved.

Shazia Khattak, district social welfare officer, called for creating public awareness about the functions of a CCB for proper utilisation of funds and said that so far 306 CCBs had been registered in the district.

Matiullah Shah, a former nazim said that the government should audit the CCB funds because they were being spent and distributed by the district nazim, a political person.

He stressed that there was a need to bring transparency in the distribution of CCB funds. He proposed that the CCB elections should be held every two years.

The national manager of the Devlolution Trust for Community Empowerment, Dr Anwar Butt said that the desk had been established to remove the problems in the way of the approval of the CCBs. The members of any CCB were now empowered to seek legal assistance again st the decision of the nazim, EDO, Finance and diostrict social welafer officer. The social welfare officer was bound to sanction a CCB feasibility within 15 days.