Police chief is accountable to Nazim under LGO: NRB
KARACHI: The Nazim (city and district) happens to be the boss of the police chief and under the Local Government Ordinance the latter is under the command of the former, while Nazims and councillors are accountable to the community as public servants. They are duty bound to apprise the community of the spending of public money.
This was stated by Member National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Muhammad Naeemul Haq while addressing a workshop on Media and Governance held at a local hotel on Friday. The workshop was held in collaboration with CESSD/CIDA.
“Nazims and councillors are public servants under section 193 of the Local Government Ordinance, while provincial finance and local government commissions can ask the local government members (Nazims and councillors) as to where the expenses are being incurred. In addition, district government inspectors have the power to impose fines.”
He said this when asked that local government system had actually originated from West where police lie under the mayor’s command. Quoting the ordinance, Naeemul Haq said: “The Nazim is the boss and police chief is accountable to him”. He said such a system did exist here but the problem lies in its implementation, adding, “NRB is just a think tank of the federal government”.
To another question as to why cantonment boards were not included in the local government system, he said: “Cantonment and Islamabad ordinances are already in shape but these are yet to be promulgated”.
The member NRB, however, regretted that all clauses for the betterment of society and delivering justice to the people have been incorporated in the local government ordinance but the same were not being implemented.
“To deliver fruitful results to society there are more than 30,000 citizen community boards (CCBs) in the country,” he said, adding that in each local government a minimum of 25 percent of development budget had been allocated for the CCBs.
Giving an outline of the local government system all over the country, Naeemul Haq said there exist 110 districts, 394 towns /tehsils and 6125 union councils.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Tariq Niazi, Focal Adviser Media Governance and Communication NRB, urged the media to play its due role in making the masses understand this system.
He said that the NRB aims to build confidence in civil society, particularly ensuring women’s participation in the development process. Dr Parveen Shahid of NRB was also present on the occasion.
Source: The News
Date:3/31/2007
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