PESHAWAR, April 15: The NWFP Local Government Commission has conducted annual audit of 16 of 24 districts of the province but the report has not been presented to the chief minister as yet, sources said.

“The LGC has been asking district and other local governments to complete annual audit but it is not cooperating in the process,” said an official.

Sources said the commission had completed 16 districts’ audit of 2004 and had sent the report back to respective district governments for their comments.

Under section 131 of the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, the provincial government has to appoint a commission to conduct annual and special inspections of local governments and submit reports to the chief executive of the province.

However, a senior official in the Local Government and Rural Development Department said the commission could not do the job properly due to non-availability of auditors and other staff. He said that under the ordinance, the provincial government had to provide a permanent secretariat and staff to the commission for the purpose.

He said the commission had completed inspection in few other districts too but reports had not been compiled.

Provincial Local Government Minister Sardar Mohammad Idrees said the department had hired consultants to expedite inspection and complete audit reports in the districts.

He said a secretariat for the commission was being established and a summary had been sent to the provincial finance department to sanction posts in this regard.