ISLAMABAD, July 24: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that decentralisation of powers and enforcement of an effective accountability mechanism were imperative for economic stability of the country.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day symposium on ‘Strengthening Decentralisation in Pakistan and the Commonwealth’ organised by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) and Commonwealth Secretariat (CS), USAID, UNDP and DFID, the prime minister said accountability of departments and transfer of powers to the grassroots level were imperative for economic growth.

Stressing the need for strict enforcement of accountability mechanism provided in the law, he said nobody was above the law and everyone was accountable.

Mr Aziz said accountability and transparency were the most striking challenge as regards strengthening of local government institutions.

He lauded the role of nazims and other elected representatives of the local governments and urged them to work with dedication and commitment to meet people’s expectations.

“The “ballot box” is the powerful tool in the democratic system, through which they have been elected. Those who will not work according to the expectations of the people can be replaced through this tool,” he said.

Mr Aziz gave a nine-point agenda for the next decade with an aim to strengthen the decentralisation and local governance. These include sharing of experience, pragmatism for long-term strategies, clarity in the role of each tier of the local government, preference to social development, improvement of quality of data and information and strict implementation of accountability mechanism provided in the law.

Earlier Secretary General CLGF Carl Wright appreciated the local government development in Pakistan and hoped that the symposium would provide a chance to share Commonwealth experiences on decentralisation to further strengthen the local governance.

He said the local governments were an efficient and direct platform for the delivery of essential services to the local people and played a leadership role in development of local economy.

NRB Chairman Daniyal Aziz said the local government system ushered in an era of devolution of power down to the grassroots level in the country with subsequent development in economic, social and cultural sectors. He said due to decentralisation of powers, now elected representatives are governing the affairs at local level.

He said the success of local government system and reforms in Pakistan were better than those of many Commonwealth countries.

He claimed that Pakistan was the only country in the Commonwealth where 25 per cent development funds were being used through community participation.

The NRB chairman said now nazims were controlling the administration in their areas unlike the past when commissioners had all the administrative and judicial powers at local level.

Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Salim Saifullah said Pakistan should learn from the devolution experience of South African countries.

He hailed the NRB efforts for replacing 150-year-old colonial system and empowering the common man to decide his own fate at the union council level.

Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao could not preside over the evening session of the symposium due to his other engagements and National Police Bureau (NPB) Director General Dr Shoaib Suddle represented the minister and highlighted police reforms under the devolution system.