Rules of business for local govts

PESHAWAR: The district nazims on Wednesday expressed serious reservations over the excessive powers given to bureaucracy in the rules of business for the local government system and declared to move the court as they believed it was in conflict with the constitution and Local Government Act 2013.
The provincial government issued rules of business the other day with some six-month delay after the local government elections.
There were reports that the government had framed draft rules of business before the local government elections, which held on May 30, 2015 in 24 districts of the province, wherein the elected representatives had been empowered with development, administrative and financial powers.
But when the ruling parties in the provincial government failed to form governments in majority of the districts, the entire rules were changed and it took six months to frame and enforce the rules afresh and local governments failed to function during this period, the reports suggested.
Reached by telephone, Mardan District Nazim Himayatullah Mayar told The News that the rules of business were a clear violation of Article 140-A of the constitution and the Articles 11-16 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013 despite the fact that no law or rules could be made in conflict with the Constitution.
The Article 140-A of the constitution mentions: “Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments.”
“However, in the rules of business all the financial, administrative and political powers have been given to the deputy commissioners instead of the elected representatives,” Himayatullah Mayar said.
He added that the district nazims, according to the rules, would be mere symbolic heads of the district governments, while real powers would be vested with the deputy commissioners and district officers.
He maintained that the district nazim would not be the signatory of cheques even and the deputy commissioner would be the principal account officer, head of accounts committees and he would have all the administrative functions.
Himayatullah Mayar said that even consultations would not be made with the district nazim in transfers and postings of the deputy commissioners and other officers of BS 17 and above.
He opined that all the postings and transfers of officials for BS 1 to 17 should be made with the approval of the district nazims and it was the nazims with whom these officers would be working.
He said that earlier the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) of the deputy commissioner was to be written by the district nazim and counter-checked by the chief secretary.
“But as per the fresh rules of business the powers of the writing the ACR have been given to the commissioner,” he said, adding, the district nazims would also have no powers to check and supervise the affairs of tertiary hospitals in the district.
Mayar said that these rules were completely in contrast with the Constitution and the Local Government Act. “Such rules are not acceptable to the elected representatives. It shows the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf is determined to fail the local government system,” he remarked.
The government first delayed the enforcement of the rules of business for six months due to which the district governments and other tiers of the local governments couldn’t start functioning.
“Now if the nazims move the court against the ‘illegal’ rules of business, the functioning of the system would be further delayed and the elected representatives won’t be able to serve the people,” he said.
He said that even the finance award could not be approved and all the district and town/tehsil nazims were running their offices at their own expense. “This is a glaring example of the provincial government’s bid to weaken the system,” he alleged.
Mayar said that all the nazims of the 24 districts would hold a meeting next week to work out the future line of action. “In first place we would take up the issue with the provincial government. If the government failed to overcome our concerns, we would be left with no other option, but to move the court,” he declared.
Shangla District Nazim Niaz Ahmad Khan was also concerned about the excessive powers to the bureaucracy.
Talking to this reporter, he said that they had been elected to serve the masses. “But without having any authority, how would we be able to serve the people,” he asked.
He supported the idea of holding a joint meeting next week to work out a strategy. He said that they would even visit Bani Gala to register their protest against the rules of business.