PESHAWAR, March 27: Differences have cropped up between the NWFP government and the city district Nazim over power-sharing.

“The provincial government wants to curtail district government powers”, the city district Nazim Azam Afridi said while speaking at the Peshawar Press Club’s “Guest Hour” programme on Thursday.

He said that a five-member organizing committee, headed by district Nazim Nowshera, Pervez Khattak, would soon call on President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali to apprise them about the situation.

He said issues had been discussed with the chief minister, the minister for local government and senior leaders of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) and they had assured that the provincial government would not delegate Nazims’ powers to DCOs.

Mr Afridi said that some elements were trying to bring bureaucracy back into power, adding the provincial government has plans to transfer powers, formerly exercised by the district development committee (DDC) and currently held by the Nazim to district coordination officers (DCOs).

He said: “System cannot function smoothly unless government delegates full powers to district governments, defined in the Local Government Ordinance.” He added that the bureaucracy wanted to snatch powers from district Nazims to undermine the role of elected representatives.

Under the 1973 Constitution, he said, elected legislatures were supposed to make laws for the country and had no concerns with developmental schemes.

The district Nazim said according to the Local Government Ordinance 2001, it was the district government’s responsibility to devise schemes and supervise developmental activities in their respective areas.

Highlighting the performance of the city district government Mr Afridi said that record development schemes had been completed in a very short time and provided offices to all 92 union councils.

He said that four girls colleges had been set up in the city and a 200-beded hospital was being established. The Afghan Commissionerate and the UNHCR would provide over Rs60 million for the hospital, he said.

He said that the government would soon provide furniture in primary schools and appoint more teachers in education institutions.