Abolishing Mayor Offices in Islamabad, Lahore and Other Major Cities Would Weaken Local Governments: Khawaja Saad Rafique

ISLAMABAD: Former federal minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has said that abolishing the offices of mayors in metropolitan or municipal corporations in Islamabad, Lahore and other major cities would weaken the local government system and strengthen the bureaucracy.

In a post on X, Khawaja Saad Rafique said mayors should be elected directly on the basis of “one person, one vote,” giving citizens a direct role in choosing their mayor and providing the office with a strong democratic mandate.

He called for the restoration of constitutional powers that had been taken away from local governments and transferred to other institutions or authorities over different periods.

Rafique also called for constitutional protection and financial autonomy for local governments, saying provincial governments should end the concentration of powers at the provincial level.

He said resources received from the federal and provincial governments should be transferred to the district level through the Provincial Finance Award so that local governments could effectively address local needs.

Questioning the existence of multiple authorities performing similar functions in a single city, he asked how the system could function effectively if six different authorities were carrying out the same work.

He stressed that establishing an empowered local government system was an urgent need.

Rafique further said that, apart from municipal committees, municipal corporations and cantonment boards, the existence of other institutions performing similar functions was inconsistent with the Constitution.

He called for a strong, empowered and financially autonomous local government system to ensure effective administration, better municipal services and the devolution of powers to the grassroots level.

— Start of Image OCR: 1001003648.jpg — Based on the image provided, here is the extracted text:

Khawaja S…

آوازِ دروں اسلام آباد اور لاہور سمیت بڑے شہروں سے میٹروپولیٹن یا میونسپل کارپوریشن کے مئیر کا عہدہ ختم کرنا لوکل گورنمنٹ سسٹم کو کمزور کرنے اور بیوروکریسی کو مضبوط کرنے کے مترادف ہو گا۔

مئیر کا انتخاب ون مین ون ووٹ کی بنیاد پر براہِ راست ہونا چاہیے — End of Image OCR: 1001003648.jpg —