LG reps urge KP govt to release funds

MANSEHRA: The local government representatives on Sunday demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to release funds so they could execute development projects in their respective village and neighbourhood councils.

“Around three years have passed since the installation of the system in the province, yet we are still without development funds and the powers enshrined in the Local Government Act 2013,” Mohammad Irfan, chairman of the Danda Kholian Village Council, told reporters in Oghi.

Flanked by a group of local government representatives, he urged Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur to honour his commitments with LG representatives and order the release of funds.“We have peacefully been agitating for almost two years, demanding the release of development funds and the powers granted to us under the Local Government Act, but to no avail,” Irfan said.

He said that civic issues faced by the people could be addressed if the required funds were released.“The founding chairman of PTI, Imran Khan, had supported the establishment of local governments in the province and the release of development funds. However, now that he is in jail, his party’s leadership has completely ignored his vision for this grassroots system, depriving us of the necessary funds,” Irfan said.