ISLAMABAD, Jan 20: Union council nazims, naib nazims and councillors from 19 districts of the four provinces have called for strengthening the mechanisms of transparency and accountability at the local level and elimination of corruption which prevails at various tiers of the system.

They also demanded measures to make the local government committees including monitoring bodies and public safety commissions function effectively.

The local government representatives were speaking at a roundtable dialogue on “Obstacles and opportunities in effective functioning of local government system” here on Saturday. The dialogue was arranged by National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in collaboration with the Strengthening Participatory Organization.

Naeemul Haq, member of the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), and Dr Mohammad Anwar Butt, national manager Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment (DTCE), were present on the occasion to listen to the experiences of 30 councillors including seven women who worked together in these districts to bring changes at the local level.

The councillors said they had achieved numerous successes by holding public forums, dialogues and other activities in their respective districts to address local problems like water supply and sanitation, education and health. They recounted various examples of practical changes which they were able to achieve in their areas.

The participants identified several other problems with the local government system including gaps between decision makers and local councils, inequality in distribution of development funds and lack of proper information and knowledge about the local government ordinance. These were the main obstacles in the effective functioning of the system, they added.

The NRB member said the bureau was engaged in removing bottlenecks in the system. He said maximum transparency and accountability was being ensured in the system.

He urged the councillors to learn more about their powers and authorities because the system had offered effective mechanisms to them so they could address their problems by taking initiatives.

The national manager of DTCE said they were working with communities at various levels to empower them, so that they could effectively use the devolution of power at the grassroots level.