MARDAN, Jan 4: The NWFP governor, Lt-Gen (retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, has said that the district government system represented the true spirit of democracy which delegated powers to the peoples’ representatives and solved their problems at their doorsteps.

Speaking to councillors and Nazims of Mardan district here at Town Hall, Mardan, the governor said that the system was unique and practical.

He said that the government had also established a system of accountability to enforce checks and balances, and nab the corrupt.

The governor said that the district governments had the powers to recruit people for the health and education departments from their own districts.

He criticized the former MPAs for recruiting their own men and disregarding merit. The local bodies, he hoped, would avoid indulging in such practices.

He said that anyone creating hurdles in the way of making the new system a success would not be tolerated.

The governor announced the establishment of two girls colleges - in Takht Bai and Mardan tehsils, and directed to speed up the construction work on the second phase of Mardan Medical Complex.

He promised to establish Information Technology (IT) university in Mardan, start work on the Katlang grid station after the completion of Khwaza Khela grid station, extension of Sui Gas to various areas of the district, commencement of work on Sangao-Mian Khan Road which links Mardan to Buner and cut distance of about 39km between the two districts, and establishment of a branch of engineering university in the district.

Earlier, District Nazim, Haji Raza Khan, in his welcome address highlighted the problems facing Mardan district. He demanded the elimination of tax on cane-crushers (Gur Gani), establishment of a sports stadium, and passport offices in the district.

In response the governor said that the tax on cane-crushers was unavoidable since the farmers were running them on commercial basis.