PESHAWAR: Local Government (LG) representatives on Monday announced a sit-in protest outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for restoration of powers which they said had been snatched from them after the election at the grassroots level.
The announcement was made at the City Council Hall in which members of the Capital Metropolitan Government, along with five tehsil councils, neighborhood councils, and village councils chairmen participated.
They announced to stage a sit-in protest outside the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on September 4. Elected representatives of local government members from across the province arriving in the provincial capital tomorrow.
The elected representatives vowed to continue the sit-in until their demands, including the provision of funds and authority were met. The meeting was convened to discuss the agenda for the protest, which aims to push for the transfer of power and funds to the grassroots level. Elected members from all political parties, including PTI, expressed support for the sit-in to achieve their demands.
Speaking at the council meeting, Mayor Zubair Ali said that the LG members were struggling for the rights of their people. He argued that a strong LG system was essential for development and true democracy.
Referring to his recent visit to Japan, he noted that local representatives there had all the powers while the governor had no say in local issues. The mayor highlighted that the Japanese benefitted from a robust LG system due to the powers granted to grassroots representatives. He stressed that strong neighborhood and village councils could provide essential services directly to the people.
However, he lamented that the provincial government had deliberately paralyzed the LG system, depriving elected members of their authority and disrupting service delivery to the masses.
He pointed out that although three out of four local government budgets had been passed, the LG reps still had no say in the affairs of their respective areas. The mayor criticized changes made to the Local Government Act after the election, calling it the government’s dishonesty. He argued that had the LG reps known that the act would be changed after the election, they would not have wasted time on contesting LG elections.
The mayor stated that the government had wronged the masses by amending the act after the election. He believed that protests alone would not yield results and that solid measures were needed to achieve their rights. He proposed that all members should consider resigning in protest. Himayatullah Mayar addressed the session, urging all members to continue their sit-in until their demands were met.
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