KP govt sets up cell to monitor LG reforms

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has established a cell in the Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department to manage and monitor the reform initiatives being launched to improve local governance in the province.

A number of development partners and donors are engaged with the local government department collaborating in various reform initiatives.

Various initiatives are already underway, while some are being launched in different areas of the department at various levels and tiers of the local governance by the development partners, including United Nations Development Programme, European Union (EU), United States Agency for International Development, UK Department for International Development, German Technical Cooperation (GIZ) and UNICEF.

According to a notification, the Reforms Management Cell (RMC) has been set up to streamline these interventions and make the same more effective and visible. The RMC would coordinate with the development partners and local government department to direct these interventions towards the service of the beneficiaries of the department.

Serving as a focal point for coordination with development partners, the RMC would also ensure wider publicity to different reforms initiatives through different media as a top priority of the provincial government.

It would also make arrangements for effective feedback to assess the progress and impacts of different reform initiatives so that it could be evaluated at different stages of implementation for making the same more effective and result-oriented.

It would also foster goodwill of people towards the development partners for their valuable contributions to the development of the province.

An additional secretary of the department has been given the charge to head the newly-set up monitoring cell as its convener and chairman while four other officers would assist him as members.