PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister Pervez Khattak has said that curbing corrupt practices in government departments, maintaining official discipline created by the present PTI-led provincial government, ensuring judicious use of the district development funds and strict observance of the rules of business, legal framework, the guidelines and the provincial government policies are what the provincial government as well as the PTI central leadership expect from the newly elected PTI Nazims of all tiers of the local governments. He said that the future performance of the PTI in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be appraised on the basis of performance of the PTI Nazims.

Addressing the PTI district and tehsil nazims at CM House today, the Chief Minister briefed them about the present provincial government’s reforms, policies and especially the primary objectives of the devolution of powers under the local government system and said that even most of the powers of the chief executive and the cabinet of the province have been surrendered to the system introduced by the provincial government under the reforms agenda of the PTI and guidance of its Chairman Imran Khan.

Dispelling the impression that the provincial government did not allow nazims to exercise the powers of posting, transfers in the devolved district departments, the Chief Minister maintained that how he or the cabinet members delegate those powers which even they do not enjoy? He, however, ensured that Local Government Rules of Business were being released very soon which would provide fool proof procedures for district governments’ functioning as well as exercise of powers and policy guidelines.

He informed that transfers of teachers of the government schools had been strictly banned by the present government and a comprehensive law was being considered to make the teachers postings permanently non transferable and only through such law availability of teachers in government schools could be ensured, he added. He said that the same approach would be introduced in health department to overcome shortage of doctors and other medical professionals in the public sector medical facilities of the province whereas political interference has already been eliminated in police department which paved way for its independent operations and decision making. He, however, stressed that the local governments would have to work as “B” Team of the provincial government and regularly monitor the working of the devolved department particularly education, health, police and revenue facilities in order to ensure continuity of the system reforms introduced in these sectors.

Warning the nazims of zero tolerance for corruption, deviation from merit based system, any compromise on standard of civil works and misuse of powers, the Chief Minister reiterated that his government was firmly committed to make the reformed system fully functional in an independent manner and only for this reason most powers of the Chief Minister and the cabinet member regarding posting, transfers and management of the public sector institutions have been surrendered to the system adding that a strict monitoring and technology based vigilance mechanism had also been evolved to check activities and performance of the government departments as well as public service facilities.

He further warned that any kind of nepotism and favoritism will ruin the system which was devised and made in place as a result of hard work of the provincial government and the PTI leadership. He said that prime purpose of devolution of powers to the local governments was to provide opportunity to the system that was introduced to solve the problems being faced by the common people and to ensure provision of justice and rights to them for which they voted the PTI to power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.