CM vows action as representatives of local bodies decry lack of authority

Murad says he is taking steps to address people’s concerns at grassroots level

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah assured representatives of local governments on Saturday that his administration would do whatever was possible to strengthen the nascent local bodies.

Shah’s assurance was in response to the public representatives’ complaints about lack of resources and authority to solve civic issues while participating in a seminar at the CM House under the aegis of the LG department. The discussion was chaired by LG Minister Jam Khan Shoro.

The seminar that highlighted issues about the newly evolved LG system was attended by the chairman and vice-chairman of the local councils, the deputy mayor of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and other relevant officials and public representatives.

The public representatives, which included those affiliated with the ruling Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), complained about lack of funds to run the affairs of their respective municipal bodies.

During a Q&A session, they presented different proposals to increase the revenue of the cash-strapped local councils and enhance their powers.

They demanded more resources and expenses for repairs and maintenance, vehicles and machineries, and other recurring expenditures.

CM Shah said there was strong opposition against holding LG elections in Karachi. “No doubt the law and order situation was precarious at that time; certain socio-political issues had also emerged.”

However, he added: “It was the political commitment and will of the PPP government in Sindh that the LG polls became possible in Karachi.”

He said there was public will and wisdom behind the Sindh Assembly passing the LG Act 2013, which was why everyone took ownership of it.

He lamented that the previous LG laws were imposed by dictators to strengthen their own position and to weaken the writ of the provincial administration.

Shah said he was taking necessary steps to strengthen the local bodies so that public issues could be solved at the grassroots level. “The LG department’s mandate is to support the local councils in the areas of administration, finance and human resource management.”

He added that without financial viability, the local councils could not deliver the desired results; therefore, they were required to take initiatives to generate resources and create an efficient internal system of checks and balances.

He also announced that the administration had constituted and notified the provincial finance commission.

Talking about finances of the local councils, the chief executive said that in the 2016-17 budget, the Octroi & Zila Tax share had been enhanced from Rs47 billion to Rs60 billion.

“More than Rs37.731 billion had been provided in the Annual Development Programme of the local government,” he said. “More grants have also been provided for settlement of electricity dues and pension liabilities of the local government.”

Concluding his speech, Shah vowed to provide extra funds for construction of new buildings, and repair and renovation of existing buildings and vehicles for the chairman and vice-chairman up to town committees’ level.

There are 1,744 local councils in the province, of which 1,199 are in the rural areas and the remaining in the urban localities under the delimitations in view of the LG Act.

There is one metropolitan corporation, nine municipal corporations, 37 municipal committees, 147 town committees and 351 union committees in the urban area, and 24 district councils and 1,175 union councils in the rural localities of the province.