Devolution process under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Bill 2013 will complete in nine months when 24 departments would be devolved to district level. The Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) led coalition government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has presented Local Government Bill in the provincial legislature. The party in its election manifesto had pledged to hold the local bodies' polls within a period of three months and however, the deadline had already passed.
The draft legislation comprised of 17 chapters and a total of seven schedules. The chapters cover the procedures of governance and elections of the local governments while the schedule covers phases of the devolution of departments to district level.
First eleven departments would be devolved to districts within a period of three months while the ten in six months and the remaining three in nine months after the commencement of the Act.
Under the Act in every district, there would be a district government, consisting of a district council and district administration made up of the devolved departments. Executive authority of the district government would be Nazim, and district council. The Nazim would be responsible for ensuring that the business of the district government carried out in accordance with this Act and other laws for the time being enforced.
On the commencement of the Act, the organisation, functions, administration and financial management of local councils in the province would come under the administrative and financial control of the successor local governments as provided in the law.
Within three months after the commencement of this Act, the administrative and financial authority for the management of the departments of primary & secondary education, vocational education, special education, adult education & literacy, mother & child health centres, basic health units, rural health centres, social welfare, community development, sports & culture and revenue & estate would stand devolved to the district government of the district concerned.
While, within six months after the commencement of the Act, the administrative and financial authority for the management of the departments of government and functions of ten more departments included agriculture (extension), livestock, on-farm water management, soil conservation & soil fertility, fisheries, co-operatives, social & farm-forestry, hospitals other than district headquarters, teaching & tertiary hospitals, rural development & rural works and district roads & buildings would stand devolved to the district government of that district.
Similarly, within nine months after the commencement of the Act, the administrative and financial authority of the remaining three departments included public health & public health engineering, population welfare and co-ordination, human resources management, planning, development, finance & budgeting functions for the devolved offices would also stand devolved to the district government of the district concerned.
For the purpose of the Act, Village, Neighbourhood, Tehsil, Town, District and City District would be local areas for local governments, Subject to other provisions of the Act, local governments constituted under the law would be a City District Government for district Peshawar, a district government for a district other than Peshawar, a Tehsil Municipal Administration for a Tehsil, a Town Municipal Administration for a Town in the city district, A Village Council for a village in the rural areas and a Neighbourhood Council for a Neighbourhood in areas with urban characteristics.
The functions and powers of Nazims, district councils would be to provide vision for district-wide development, leadership and direction for efficient functioning of district government; development strategies and timeframe for accomplishment of goals approved by district council, ensure implementation of devolved functions and maintain administrative and financial discipline; oversee formulation and execution of annual development plan; present budget proposals to district council for approval, present to district council bi-annual reports on the performance of offices of district government and call for quarterly reports from government departments in the district, other than those devolved to district government, present them to district council and forward them government along with recommendations of district council and his comments for consideration and act; initiate inspections of tehsil municipal administration, village council and neighbourhood councils in the district, issue executive orders to officers-in charge of the devolved departments for discharge of their functions, represent district government on civic and ceremonial occasions and perform any other function as may be assigned to him by government.
Under the Act, there would be a District Council in each district, which would consist of general seats, seats reserved for women, peasants and workers, youth and non-Muslims.
The functions and powers of the district council would be to approve bye-laws for performance of functions devolved to district government; approve taxes on subjects provide this Act, approve long-term and short-term development plans, annual and supplementary budgetary proposals of district government including proposals for changes in the schedule of establishment for devolved offices and, where required, intra-district fiscal transfers etc.
Under the Act, within sixty days after its commencement, the government would by notification in the office gazette, constitute and notify village and neighbourhood councils in all districts. Every village and neighbourhood council would comprise of ten to fifteen members. Five to ten of them determined on the basis of population, elected to general seats, two members elected to seats reserved for women, one member elected to seat reserved for peasants and workers, one member reserved for youth and one seat reserved for non-Muslims.
Under the Act, the provincial government would constitute a Provincial Finance Commission, with Minister for Finance as chairman while Minister for Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department, two members of the provincial assembly one each nominated by the leaders of the house and opposition in the said assembly, secretary finance, secretary P&D, Secretary local government, secretary law, two nazims, district councils elected by nazims district councils in the province and two nazims, tehsil councils.
For the supervision of the local governments, the provincial government would appoint a Local Government Commission, with Minister for Local Government as chairman while two members of provincial assembly one each nominated by the leader of the house and opposition in the same assembly, two eminently qualified technocrats, including a woman selected by the government and secretary local government as members.