Anees Takar
MARDAN: Local government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) plays a crucial role in addressing the specific needs of communities, fostering development, and ensuring efficient service delivery. By decentralizing powers, local governments bring decision-making closer to the people, allowing for tailored solutions to local challenges. This result in improved infrastructure, better healthcare, and enhanced educational facilities, directly benefiting the public. Citizens appreciate the accessibility of local representatives who understand their concerns intimately.
The resident of Tariq Colony Mardan, Imtiaz Ahmad expressed support for local government and said that the Local Government (LG) has introduced a streamlined process of basic facilities like birth, Nikah, Divorce and death certificates by establishing these services in local council offices. This initiative marks a significant shift, eliminating the need for residents to travel to major cities or capital-based offices, thereby saving both time and resources, Imtiaz said.
Imtiaz said that the decentralized approach ensures swift approval of information, capitalizing on the intimate knowledge that local government representatives possess regarding the people in their communities, their identification, and family lineage. This localized facilitation enhances efficiency and accessibility for residents in obtaining essential documents at their doorstep, said Imtiaz.
The provincial govt of Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) in KP introduced amendments to the Local Government Act in 2019. These changes paved the way for phased municipal elections across the province. The first phase took place on December 19, 2021, covering 17 districts, while the remaining 18 districts held elections on March 31, 2022. A total of 1,296 village councils, 550 neighborhood councils, and chairpersons and mayors for 24 tehsil councils and seven city tehsil councils were elected.
The 1st phase election was conducted on December 19 2021 in 17 districts, where JUI-F won in 23 tehsils, with PTI securing 19 seats and nine independents also emerging victorious. In the 2nd phase of LGE in KP, the ruling party PTI secured 32 seats in tehsil councils. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) won 8 tehsil councils. Other parties and independents also secured seats, with the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) winning 5, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) securing 3, and the Awami National Party (ANP), Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), and independents claiming 2 each. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the Rah-e-Haq Party (RHP), and Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) each won one seat.
In KP, over 25,000 elected local government representatives were set to receive more than Rs2.8 billion annually, encompassing salaries, travel expenses, and various allowances. The first proposed allocations include a monthly salary of Rs50,000 for Tehsil Chairmen and City Mayors, Rs30,000 for Village and Neighborhood Council Chairmen, and daily session allowances ranging from Rs500 to Rs1,000 for council members. Additionally, allowances for Entertainment and Travel Out-of-Tehsil are suggested.
Chairman Altaf disclosed that subsequent to initial promises, the monthly remuneration for Mayors was slashed to Rs. 40,000, while Chairmen received only Rs. 20,000. Expressing concern, he revealed that Neighborhood Chairmen had received remuneration for just one month in September 2022, leaving them financially strained. Some Chairmen are compelled by fiscal constraints and contemplate vacating rented premises. Despite staging a protest in Peshawar on December 19, 2023, demanding fund disbursement, they are yet to receive any allocations. Dr. Altaf lamented the insufficiency of funds, leading them to explore alternative income sources like birth and death certificate registration fees which fall short of covering expenses, he acknowledged.
On June 3, 2022, further amendments were made to the Local Government Act, restricting the financial and administrative powers of elected representatives associated with opposition parties.
Local representatives express disappointment, citing a lack of funds for the fiscal year 2021-22. The Provincial Finance Commission had allocated Rs. 15 billion for local governments, but the funds were not released until the end of the financial year on June 30, 2021. For the ongoing fiscal year (2022-23), Rs. 41 billion has been allocated, but the provincial government has yet to release the funds, leaving local governments financially constrained.
Yousaf Khan, a prominent local leader, emphasized the importance of an effective local governance system. He explained that local representatives understand the ground-level issues and can address them promptly. However political interventions hinder the smooth transfer of powers to the local government, leading to incomplete and ineffective solutions.
Critics argue that the previous provincial government in KP, facing defeat in the local elections, introduced amendments that weakened the local governance system. Yousaf Khan, who held various positions in local governance, stated that the amendments were designed to limit the powers of elected representatives and undermine their effectiveness.
Mayor Mardan Himayatullah Mayar expressed concerns about the amendments, stating that the provincial government had centralized authority, stripping local governments of their decision-making autonomy. He criticized the move, highlighting that grants from the provincial government would no longer go directly to local governments, negatively impacting their ability to address community issues.
Mayar said that the struggle for power between provincial and local governments continues to impact the efficiency of the local governance system. He said that local representatives face challenges in accessing essential funds and making timely decisions to address the needs of their communities. “The ongoing tug-of-war threatens the effectiveness of the local governance model, leaving citizens waiting for solutions to their everyday problems” said Mayar.
Engineer Adil Nawaz, Secretary Information PTI Peshawar Region, stated that in the history of Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Imran Khan is the only leader who aspired to decentralize powers to the grassroots level for the ease of the public. He credited Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for conducting local government elections twice during their tenure, receiving global acclaim. Previously, district and tehsil councils were selected through indirect elections, leading to corruption. Imran Khan’s governance ended this practice to discourage the horse trading culture, allowing direct elections of representatives at the tehsil and district levels. Adil Nawaz highlighted that while other democratic governments avoided decentralizing powers, PTI’s commitment to local government reforms in KP strengthened the democratic system, fostering public trust and participation.
Imtiaz expressed frustration, stating that when approaching local representatives to address the pressing issue of improving the street and drainage system in their locality, they were repeatedly informed about the unavailability of funds. Despite making three visits to the local council regarding this matter, Imtiaz recounted receiving the same response on every occasion. He urged higher authorities to allocate necessary funds to local representatives, emphasizing the critical need for these resources to enhance the well-being of their community.
