LG reps seek powers and funds

PESHAWAR: Local Council Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President and Mardan City Mayor, Himayatullah Mayar, on Thursday demanded powers and funds for the elected Local Government (LG) institutions forthwith.

Speaking at a news conference in the Peshawar Press Club, he warned that elected representatives from across the province would be compelled to stage a sit-in at Jinnah Park, Peshawar, on December 26 if their demands were not met.

He lamented the deprivation of powers and resources for the elected system formed under the Local Government Act 2019.The mayor urged the provincial government to establish the rules of business for LGs as per Section 112 of the act.

He demanded that offices, funds, powers, and other necessary facilities be provided to elected councils as mandated by the act.Mayar lamented that three years had passed since the first phase of LG elections on December 19, 2021, yet elected institutions were still protesting for powers and funds.

He pointed out that after the second phase of elections in 2022, when elected councils assumed their responsibilities, the government of the then Chief Minister Mahmood Khan amended the act to strip local councils of powers and funds, transferring all authority to the bureaucrats.

Mayar criticized the neglect of LG representatives, stating that despite repeated press conferences, protests, and meetings with former and current chief ministers, no progress has been made.

He said that this neglect had forced KP s local government representatives to take unprecedented steps, such as protesting outside Adiala Jail and the Parliament House.He said that Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal had assured them that their demands would be presented to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, expressing the hope that the promise would be fulfilled.Mayar announced that LG representatives would stage a protest sit-in at Jinnah Park, Peshawar, on December 26 to demand their rights.