Ashrafudin Pirzada
ISLAMABAD: In an effort to move forward the implementation of post-merger reforms in tribal districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, GIZ in collaboration with the Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department (LGE&RDD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and KP Assembly, organized a three-and-a-half-day orientation workshop on Local Government System and Parliamentary Proceedings for members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) from the Merged Areas and settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the special auspices of Hon. Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, Speaker of the KP Assembly and Mr. Nasrullah Khan Khattak, Secretary of KP Assembly.
The Provincial Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is working closely with communities of Merged Areas through various provincial departments and attached bodies, with support from Federal Government, donor agencies, the United Nations, and international community & organizations, to take the erstwhile FATA to the mainstream democratic platform and implement post-merger reforms consequently.
Mr. Iqbal Khan Wazir, Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation & Settlement Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, along with Mr. Inayat Ullah Wasim Special Secretary LGE&RDD Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Mr. Attaullah Khan Special Secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly inaugurated the orientation workshop for Members Provincial Assembly (MPAs) at a local hotel in Islamabad.
Among other key government dignitaries, the training was also attended by Mr. Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal, MPA & Ex-Special Assistant to Chief Minister KP; Ms. Haleema, Deputy Secretary LGE&RDD KP; Mr. Amjad Ali Special Secretary (PAC), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and officers of the Local Government School, LGE&RDD, and the Local Government Reforms Unit. In total, twenty-three MPAs including seventeen from Merged Areas and six from KP’s settled districts attended the training.
Keeping in view the important role of the MPAs in the provincial assembly, the orientation workshop was aimed towards enriching the capacities of MPAs in formulation, adjusting and amending new laws for the province, holding the provincial government to account, passing an annual budget, debating on issues of public importance and representing its constituency in the provincial assembly.
During the three-and-a-half-day activities packed inclusive orientation workshop, various sessions were conducted including sensitization and awareness of parliamentary processes, the benefits and implications of the local government system, and improved services delivery for the local communities in Merged Areas. The orientation on the local government system will further assist the MPAs to support the post-merger LGE&RDD initiatives for the uplift of the local communities.
It is worth mentioning that the provincial government is planning to hold local body elections before the end of the year, and as such this effort was timed to coincide with and complement the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and LGE&RDD initiatives to hold local body elections.
To implement the Merged Areas reforms and to improve services provisions for the local population, GIZ has been implementing the FATA Development Programme (FDP) and is providing technical assistance to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to implement the FATA reforms and to improve service provision to the population in the Merged Areas in the field of local government, health and education. The Programme is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union.
