KABUL (Pajhwok): Provincial council members on Sunday called off their weeks-long strike and announced returning to work on Sunday when they were handed over a presidential decree that reinstates their right to evaluating the performance of local departments.
On January 28, the lower house of parliament barred provincial councils from overseeing the performance of local departments and since then members of the bodies have been protesting in various provinces, keeping their offices closed.
Earlier, a Cabinet meeting, chaired by President Ashraf Ghani, had decided the provincial councils should be given their supervision right back.
But Wolesi Jirga‘s deputy secretary Irfanullah Irfan had said the president could not issue his decree until the amended law on the provincial councils was implemented and published in the official guzatte.
Sayed Abul Rahman, the Kabul provincial council chief, announced ending their strike at a press conference in Kabul. “After we were given the presidential decree reinstating our evaluation role, we (all PCs across the country) have decided to reopen our offices and resume work.”
Sayed Ahmad Selab, Kandahar PC member, said they were given the presidential decree after they met Vice-President Sarwar Danish. “After we met Danish and received the decree, we decided to reopen our offices,” he added.
In his decree, the president has asked the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) to facilitate PCs in exercising their oversight authority.
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