The strife between the parliament and the local bodies of government is worsening with every passing day, and we heard about the closure of some more local bodies in a number of provinces of the country in last few days, including of Wardak and others. This indeed is an alarming situation. The disagreement started when parliament declared that local bodies don’t have the authority of oversight of projects in the provinces and they exist to provide with counseling and advice in regards of the issues of the province. In reaction to this, a number of local government bodies in a number of provinces were closed down and the protest of local bodies is still in progress and this shutdown has further spread to a number of other provinces in the country. At present, there doesn’t seem to be any kind of resolution to this problem.

Although there is present some concern over the absence of local bodies and their proper functioning but it is also a fact that majority of people in the rural and urban areas are absolutely unaware of the logic for the existence of these bodies. Millions of Afghanis of taxpayers are spent every year for the functioning of these bodies. Their members get good salaries and their offices are maintained with proper expense. But large amount of money is spent on the protocol of the members of these bodies. In the same way, the local and central Election Commissions spend millions for their elections. On the other hand, this is a kind of mechanism which has been implemented without proper understanding and public perception. Not many people and even the members of these local bodies are not aware as why they hold their offices and have been selected by people. In the same way, lack of awareness by people makes it happen that no one demands for any kind of service from them. It is the reason why, there has been very less reaction from people after this disagreement and we have not witnessed any kind protest in support of these local bodies and having a look at the present trend, there doesn’t seem to be any possibility of any such support from public.

This drastic picture brings into light another reality that there has not been any proper training for people and members of these local bodies. When millions of dollars were spent for the running of these institutions, it was also needed that little attention could have been given for making grounds for the proper functioning of these bodies. It also shows a gap between our institutions and government organs when no one is there to check the performance of these bodies. It was not clear as who would be responsible to check if these government bodies are actually working or not. It was also necessary that the responsibilities of the members of these bodies should have been properly designed and their authority line should have been outlined but unfortunately, these tasks were not carried out properly and today, we see its results in the form of this uncertainty.

The present situation also shows a fact that these bodies were not functioning properly and if it is a case, there remains no logic in spending millions of the taxpayers that can be spent on other development projects.

However, it is a fact that local government bodies are considered to be the most important organs of a democratic system. It is a fact that the central government may not be able to access every part of the country and in such circumstances, these government bodies have been found to be very effective. These local bodies are comprised of the local people who can better understand the situation of the area and the limited working area would also make sure that people would get their problems solved without running to distant offices. It is the reason why, the local government bodies are working effectively in almost all the democratic countries of the world.

But it is also a fact that it would take a number of years before different government organs start working properly. Most important is the need of deciding upon the limits of different organizations so that they should not get into clash with each other. At present, we see so many organs of government that can get into clash with each other. There is a parliament having its two houses. Then there is present a big team of President including of his vice-presidents, and of course, let’s not forget the newly added post of the Chief Executive of the country and his vice-presidents. Then there is a long list of deputy ministers, and many more. We should also not forget the presidential governors and many other members of government. Then comes the turn of these local bodies and their members. In short, there is present a number of bodies that can get into clash with each other. It is not that any of these organs are extra or unnecessary but most important factor is the lack of proper understanding of their tasks and authorities.

Present clash between these two government bodies gives us an opportunity to overview the whole system of government bodies and decide upon their limits and boundaries. It must be the utmost responsibility of the president and the chief executive.