ISLAMABAD: Amid a growing dispute between the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA), cabinet approved the formation of a Local Government Commission on Tuesday.

The commission is a requirement under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act 2015. Its formation was announced in a post-cabinet briefing by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan.

Dr Awan also said that the cabinet took up the matter of sanitation workers’ delayed salaries. She said the CDA chairman told the cabinet that the MCI was responsible for paying sanitation workers but did not do so, and the CDA released the funds as a result.

She revealed that the cabinet approved MNA Ali Nawaz Awan to head the Local Government Commission, along with technocrats Ali Bokhari and Tayyaba Ibrahim.

Special assistant says commission will ‘clean up mess created after mayor’s election’

Sources said the commission will have four more members, two from the ruling party and two from the opposition members in the National Assembly and Senate.

The MCI was formed after the local government elections in November 2015. Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz was nominated by the then ruling PML-N and elected the first mayor of Islamabad. However, the MCI’s performance has been very poor so far because neither the PML-N nor the PTI has given him funds or power to run the corporation.

The MCI and CDA have been at loggerheads over several matters, including the devolution of some CDA departments to the MCI.

The latest dispute arose over the salaries of Islamabad’s sanitation workers. The MCI claimed the federal government has not approved its financial rules, because of which it cannot spend the money it has collected. The CDA has argued that paying sanitation staff salaries is the MCI’s responsibility.

Caught between both organisations, sanitation workers had to hold a number of protests before their salaries were released on Monday, just two days before Christmas.

Dr Awan said on Tuesday that a ‘contractor’ who was close to former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was chosen to run the MCI as mayor.

She said the mayor was not familiar with the issues that faced the people of the capital and has failed to deliver. She alleged the mayor was currently enjoying Christmas and New Year’s celebrations in London and did not pay heed to resolving the sanitation workers’ salary issue.

“We cannot make the capital city a dumping site,” she said, adding that the Local Government Commission would work on cleaning up the mess created after the mayor’s election.

Dr Awan said the mayor’s powers were not being reduced, but that it was the government’s responsibility to improve a redundant organisation.

MNA Ali Nawaz Awan told Dawn he would play his role to resolve issues facing Islamabad’s residents.

He said the MCI’s performance was not satisfactory, but the commission would make it a vibrant organisation.

“We will also resolve issues between the CDA and MCI,” he said.

He added that the commission will include two MNAs and senators from the ruling party and the opposition, including MNA Khurram Nawaz and Senator Seemi Ezdi from the PTI and former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed from the opposition.

All three PTI members of the commission served as members of the MCI prior to the 2018 general election.

The commission’s main responsibility will be annual inspections of the local government that will be reported to the federal government. It will also direct audits and resolve local government, MCI and union council issues and local government issues with any other government bodies or departments.

The commission has been formed under the local government act, which states that the government shall appoint a commission consisting of people with integrity and a good public service record. It is authorised to co-opt any government official for any specific assignment.

Published in Dawn, December 25th, 2019