Lacks of uplift funds and honourarium: LG reps go on pen-down strike

PESHAWAR: The Action Committee of the representatives of the Local Government (LG) on Tuesday announced a week-long pendown strike to register protest at the non-availability of development funds for the chairmen of the neighbourhood and village councils.

Speaking at a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, the Action Committee leaders Mehmoodul Hassan, Akhunzada Irfanullah Shah, Imran Salarzai, Malik Tariq, Kamran Nazir and others said the neighbourhood and village councils would announce a protest campaign across the province if the government failed to address the situation.

They said the government did not take any steps in the last two years to address the problems faced by the elected representatives at the local level.The speakers said the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government and later the caretaker government ignored the issues despite repeated demands.

They said the PTI government was elected to power again in the province after the February 8 general elections but a party, which claimed to have reformed the system, was taking steps to make the LG system dysfunctional.

They said that the KP government had approved millions of rupees for the ministers’ perks on the one hand, but deprived the local government of much-needed development funds, on the other which could have been utilized for the betterment of the public.

The LG representatives said that LG elected representatives were even deprived of the honourarium on the pretext of the lack of funds. They said the neighoburhood councils chairmen could not pay even the rent of their offices.

The representatives said the civic issues needed to be resolved but the public representatives lacked funds to provide better services to their constituents.They warned of ringing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly during its next session if the government failed to rectify the mistake made to the LG system.

Meanwhile, All Secretaries Association also staged a protest rally outside the Peshawar Press Club demanding upgrading.Led by the association president Liaqat Ali Khan Jhagra, the protesters were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans in favour of their demands.

They said 30 percent of their quota was being allocated for the assistants which was not acceptable to them.The secretaries asked the government to withdraw the decision forthwith or else they would stage a protest after four days.They said that a token protest had already been started on the directives of the Action Committee.