20000221

Seminar demands

autonomy for

local councils

RECORDER REPORT

HYDERABAD: Social and Economic Development Forum organised a seminar on the topic of "local government Ñ problems and prospects" at Niaz Auditorium, Hyderabad, here on Saturday which was presided over by the former Vice-Chancellor, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur.

The speakers demanded that the local councils should be given the right to impose taxes at local level and given complete autonomy in the levy and collection of revenue.

They said the local government organisations could only be strengthened through this mean.

Chairman of the Sindh Text Book Board and former Vice-Chancellor, Shah Latif University, Khairpur Hameed Sindhi in his presidential address, said during the democratic era, chaos and anarchy was witnessed in all the departments and organisations.

He said that the people had suffered economically, while the governments continued to raise empty slogans.

He was of the opinion that unless the social and financial condition of the people was improved, true democracy and peoples government could not come into existence.

He said that the topic of the seminar was very important but the people will have to be educated about their rights first.

The Sindh NGOs Federation (SINGOF) Chairman Professor Eijaz Qureshi said that it was the misfortune of the people that the successive rulers had tried to run the local councils according to their own personal whims.

He said the result was that new projects were started at the cost of old development programmes.

He said billions of rupees were wasted on experiments only.

National Institute of Labour Administration (Training) Director General S H A Bukhari said that in our country the local governments always depend on the government of the day for their survival.

He stressed the need for giving complete autonomy to the local bodies without any interference from the commissioners, deputy commissioners and the provincial government.

The co-chairperson of the Social and Economic Development Forum Professor Dr Zakia Zeba Abidi said that the local government in a civilised society performed a key role in the social and economic development of the country.

The others who spoke on the occasion included Zafar Ali Ujjan, the chairman of the forum and Khalid Durrani.