Govt urged to empower LGs, cut bureaucracy powers

MANSEHRA: The Nazimeen Ittehad, a representative body of village and neighbourhood councils, has asked the government to empower local governments in the province and curtail powers being enjoyed by bureaucracy in the proposed amendments to the Local Government Act 2013.

The demand was made at a meeting of the Nazimeen Ittehad held with its President Mohammad Farid in the chair on Tuesday.

The village and neighbourhood councils nazims from across the district attended the meeting.

Basharat Ali Swati, the general secretary of Nazimeen Ittehad, after the meeting, told reporters that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf previous and incumbent governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had failed to implement their party manifesto about local government system.

“We want PTI to enhance the existing powers of local governments in the proposed amendments as bureaucracy had made all-out efforts during the last four years to fail this system,” said Swati.

He said the government had slashed half of their development budget and overheads expenditures to almost 50 percent during the ongoing term due to which these bodies couldn’t deliver in a better way.

“Our current term is going to end by August next and we want the government to release our funds forthwith so that we could execute some development schemes,” Swati demanded.