Representatives of civil society organizations and senior journalists have demanded effective local government (LG) system to address people's issues and stoppage of funds issued to MPAs and MNAs as their job is to only legislate. This was resolved in a consultation dialogue with CSOs and media on gaps and challenges in implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) held by Sindh Community Foundation under Tabeer programme.
Speakers including Javed Hussain of Sindh Community Foundation, Arfana Mallah of Women Action Forum, Mustafa Baloch of SPO, Wahid Sangrasi of Civil Society Support Program (CSSP), Shahnaz Sheedi of South Asia Partnership Pakistan, Razaq Umrani of HANDS, senior journalists Khalid Chandio, Mahaish Kumar, Jan Khaskheli, Ishque Mangrio, Fahmeeda Jarwar, Nadia Lark of Safwco, Manzoor Abro of Sindh Development Society and others.
Javed Hussain of Sindh Community Foundation said that Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - a global commitment which has to be achieved till 2030 - needs speedy achievement of the targets. He observed that political will is required to speed up the implementation process of SDGs.
Khalid Chandio, President Hyderabad Press Club, was of the view that the current local government system is unable to deliver as the system is running without sufficient powers. It was the prime responsibility of local governments to deliver pubic service schemes but they have totally failed to do so, he maintained.
Arfana Mallah of Women Action Forum said that budget process have just become an exercise of cut and paste. She emphasized upon spreading awareness among the citizens regarding budget and their role in this regard. Mustafa Baloch of the SPO said that municipal corporations are finically destroyed as they have been stopped to collect local taxes.
He said that stakeholders must be included in consultation and preparation of a budget. Wahid Sangrasi of CSSP said that last year, budget for establishing safe houses for victimised women has remained unspent, urging the government set up monitoring system for budget utilization.
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