German envoy to continue supporting local govt system

HARIPUR: The ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bernhard Schlagheck, on Friday said that his country was committed to strengthening democratic governance at grassroots level.

“The local governments serve as a forum which helps strengthen the democratic governance through public participation, especially women and peasants in the development planning and implementation. And the German government will continue supporting the local government system in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in future,” he told the local government representatives from different village councils and officials of Local Government and Rural Development and district administration here.

He said that the German government through GIZ was working in the targetted areas of the KP province aimed at strengthening citizen’s participation in development planning. He inspected the buildings of Jatipind Village Council that were constructed with financial assistance of GIZ at a cost of Rs6.800 million and the building of Akhun Bandi village council that was constructed with a cost of Rs6 million during 2018.

The German envoy also met the women and male councillors of two village councils and listened to their experiences and problems. He assured the local government representatives of taking up their problems with the German government for exploring more avenues of cooperation in future.

Earlier, Seyed Hasnain Kazmi, Assistant Director Local Government and Rural Development Haripur, briefed the envoy about the nomenclature, functions, powers and services that village councils, neighborhood councils and Tehsil Councils offer to the citizens.

Later, he inaugurated the women facilitation centre in the office of Deputy Commissioner Haripur where two women IT assistants would receive complaints, applications and grievances about the government department and help them address daily from 9 am to 5 pm.