Stepping stone: 262 councilors including 49 women of merged areas trained on LG 

News Desk

PESHAWAR: As many as 262 tehsil councilors, including 49 women, as well as councilors representing different faith minorities from Bajaur and Mohmand districts trained on the local government services delivery systems.

The training was organized by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the KP government in Peshawar on Friday.

The purpose of the training was to train the newly-elected Tehsil Councilors in KP’s merged areas’ on the local government systems.

It is to mention here that the local government (LG) system has been introduced for the first time in the merged areas in the history of Pakistan.

“This is a learning curve for the newly elected councilors, and we support them to understand the devolution of power, the structure and composition of local governments, and the authority and responsibilities of the elected representatives,” said UNDP’s Programme Manager for the Merged Areas Governance Project Raluca Eddon.

 KP Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Secretary Syed Zaheerul Islam Shah while appreciating the participants’ passion for learning said that the provincial government had allocated  Rs37 billion development budget for the local bodies to improve service delivery.

Azra Gul, a general councilor belonging to the Lower Mohmand sub-division, said that the training helped her understand the local government system and that she would now serve the women in her community effectively.

As much as $15.7 million, in the merged area governance program, is USAID-funded activity, implemented by the UNDP to facilitate the integration of the merged districts by supporting the provincial government in reform implementation, strengthening the government’s capacity, and strengthening local governance systems.