PESHAWAR, Oct 21: Representatives of the local government here on Tuesday complained about financial constraints and lack of executive powers, saying these two factors had affected their performance during the past two years.

They were speaking at a discussion held on “Delivering Democracy Dialogue” that was organized by the NWFP chapter of the Liberal Forum of Pakistan.

Participants had been invited to analyse whether the present local government system had proved effective in solving the people’s problems.

Naib Nazim of the Peshawar district council Iqbal Khalil attributed lack of funds for hindering the progress of development schemes.

Stressing the need for allocating more funds, he said that in the annual budget, only Rs65,000 had been allocated to each of the union council which was insufficient for initiating any development scheme.

District council member Nawab Khattak observed that councillors had too many responsibilities without having any authority to solve the people’s problems.

He said that despite their powerlessness, members of town and union councils performed their duties with dedication, adding that it seemed that the National Reconstruction Bureau had left them to fend for themselves after creating their posts.

Nazim of Peshawar town-III Yasin Khalil also echoed similar views about shortage of funds and their lack of authority.

Expressing unhappiness over council members’ plight, Nazim of town-I Haroon Bilour maintained that powers had not been devolved in the real sense, adding that the situation was getting worse day by day.

Other speakers also called for more autonomy and provision of adequate amount of funds.

Complaining about a lack of coordination between the Local Government Commission and the local bodies, they called for nominating Nazims as members of the commission.