Introduction - Pead Foundation

E-NEWSLETTER: CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
Capacity
Building of
District
Councilors on
Reserved
Seats
DISTRCIT COUNCILORS CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM
IN THIS ISSUE
Introduction
Peace Education And Development (PEAD)
Foundation & Centre for Research & Security
Studies (CRSS), initiated a three-month
project for capacity building of District
Councilors on Reserved Seats of Peshawar
and Kohat, with the support of Canadian
Funds for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The News
Letter provides a glimpse of all the elements
of the project including the capacity building
workshops and awareness campaign through
media in order to highlight the impact and
effectiveness of the intervention.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province, the
Local Government (LG) elections were held
in May 2015 after a long gap of 10 years - the
last one being in 2005. The long gap and
adaptations in the revised LG system
underlined the need to adopt measures that
would help the nascent system work
optimally. The newly elected representatives
especially women, non-Muslims and youth
were comparatively less likely to be familiar
with the new or amended rules, laws, and
procedures of the LG system, including
administrative hierarchy and delegation of
powers, as a new generation of grassroots
politicians taking up the reins of local
governance.
This project aimed to contribute to the
capacity building of District Councilors
on
reserved
seats
(Women,
Peasant/Worker, Youth and NonMuslim) at the District Council level in
Peshawar and Kohat.
The capacity building activities were
expected to contribute to responsive,
efficient and accountable democratic
systems. The project also aimed to develop
the capacities of District Councilors on
participatory planning, financial resource
management, transparent budget processes
and developing engagement platforms with
citizens.
The activities under this program conducted
by PEAD Foundation & CRSS included; series
of three two-days training workshops, Radio
Programs & Media Forums for building
capacity of women, peasant, youth, and
minorities, elected in local government
elections 2015 against reserved seats at the
District Council level in key areas i.e.,
participatory planning, financial resource
management, transparent budget processes
and developing engagement platforms with
citizens.
Capacity Building Workshops
Capacity Building Trainings of District Councilors of
Peshawar & Kohat
Page # 3
Radio Programs
District Councilors participating in Radio Programs
Page #5
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
How It Worked
The program is designed to enhance the
capacity of newly elected district councilors
of Peshawar and Kohat on their roles and
responsibilities
as
district
members,
understanding of Local Government
Structures and Act, Function and Powers as
district members.
In order to finalize the target groups’ for
effective participation in the project
activities, PEAD Foundation held meetings
with relevant stakeholders including local
and provincial party leaderships, women and
non-Muslim party officials in Kohat and
Peshawar at the start of the project and
shared the aims and objectives of the
project. The LG representatives of district
Peshawar on reserved Seats including
(Women, Youth, Peasants & minorities were
46 in total who were divided into two groups
respectively:


Peshawar 1 (P-1)
Peshawar 2 (P-2)
The representatives of Kohat District
Councilors were 17 in total and formed one
group Kohat 1 K-1)
Nazim to approach the district councilors
through Local Government System’s district
coordination committees through formal and
informal channels of communication in
Kohat and Peshawar.
This helped in compilation of the contact
details of the district councilors on reserved
seats. In addition, PEAD Foundation also
held one-on-one meetings at city district
government offices with the Nazims and
Naib Nazim (convener) of City district
Assembly Peshawar & Kohat in which few
promised their support to the project staff
and beneficiaries in any appropriate capacity.
During the course of the project, the district
members were also trained on media
advocacy tools and participated in live radio
programs. The project also involved a regular
interaction between district councilors as
they formulated their own action plans to
deliver their job in better manner to help
their constituency. The District Members
from both districts appeared on 30 radio
shows, hosted interactive sessions with their
Consultation Meetings
members of the District Government
were also present.
PEAD Foundation conducted consultation
meetings with the District Nazim and Naib
This was meant to take their feedback
and inputs on the project objectives and
to establish and strengthen their role as
critical stakeholder in the project
activities. They appreciated the
comprehensive objectives of the project
and stressed on building capacities of the
elected district councilors regarding Local
Government Act 2013 and the roles and
functions of the district councilors. They
constituents/callers and participated in
Media forums in their home towns.
SUPPORT FROM DISTRICT NAZIMS
District Nazims of Peshawar & Kohat
appreciate the initiative of the trainings of
district councilors
District Nazims of Peshawar & Kohat also
participated in Radio Programs
2
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
GLIMPSES OF TRAINING SESSIONS
Group Photo of the participant of
capacity building workshop in
Kohat
Peshawar Training
Participants posing during a training activity
Capacity Building Trainings
OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS ON RESERVED SEATS OF PESHAWAR AND KOHAT
The se grou ps were then give n two-days traini ng each in their respective district capitals. Eight (8 ) trainings of two (2) day s each were held (4 traini ngs in Peshawar and 4 in Kohat. The purpose of the se trainings was to buil d the capacity of district councilors and develop better understanding a bout the ir roles, responsibilities a nd functions as district councilor.
Each of the 3 groups of District Councilors
underwent comprehensive two-day training
in their respective district.
Discussion on Radio Program
District Members of Kohat discussing Radio and Media
Component during a training session
FAST FACTS
52/60
52 district members participated in three trainings out
of total 60 district members in Peshawar and Kohat.
TRAINING OBJECTIVES
1.
2.
Enable district councilors to contribute to
responsive, efficient and accountable
democratic systems as per the established
standards
Familiarize the newly elected
representatives with the new or amended
rules, laws, and procedures of the LG
system, including administrative hierarchy
and delegation of powers.
Three trainings of two (2) day each were held
(2 trainings in Peshawar and 1 in Kohat. The
purpose of these trainings was to build the
capacity of district councilors and develop
better understanding about their roles,
responsibilities, powers and functions as
district councilor.
Capacity
Building
of
Councilors of Kohat K-1
District
December 11 – 12, 2015
The training session was held with district
members of Kohat which was attended by 12
participants, from reserved seat categories
(women, peasants/workers, youth and
minorities). The purpose of the training was
to enhance their capacities and develop
better understanding of the Local
Government structure. The training sessions
were facilitated by Mr. Ammad Khaliq & Mr.
Ahsan Jehanzaib on Local Government
System and Social Action Plans whereas Mr.
Naseem and Ms Amna trained them on
communication Skills and Radio Component.
Capacity
Building
of
Councilors of Peshawar P-1
Local Government System) & Mr. Safiullah
Gul (Bureau Chief Dunya News Peshawar).
However, the Radio Component was
discussed by Ms. Asma and Mr. Naseem from
Center for Research and Security Studies
(CRSS).
Capacity Building of District
Councilors of Peshawar P-2
January 12 – 14, 2015
The third training session was also held in
Peshawar and engaged 21 participants, from
all reserved seat categories (women,
peasants/workers, youth and minorities) of
Peshawar District. The participants were
trained by Ms. Shagufta Khaliq (Project
Manager, PEAD Foundation), Safiullah Gul
District
December 17 – 18, 2015
The second training session was held in
Peshawar and was attended by 19
participants, elected on reserved seat
categories (women, peasants/workers, youth
and minorities). The participants were
trained by Mr. Ammad Khaliq (Expert on
(Bureau Chief Dunya News Peshawar), Asma
and Naseem (Center of Research and
Security Studies).
3
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
Training Manual
To provide a complete insight of the
working of the LG system in KP to the new
local
body
representatives,
PEAD
Foundation developed a training manual for
the District Councilors. The manual not only
included key points of the LG Act but also
the powers of the district councilors (See
diagram for detailed description of the
manual). Equipped with the manual,
capacity of 52 councilors from Kohat and
Peshawar was enhanced for delivering to
their constituents by gaining knowledge
about the working of the local government
system and its functions, their own roles
and responsibilities and the financial
management aspects of the local
government system. Their future role and
participation will be towards the
communities they represent i.e.; women,
peasant,
youth
and
non-Muslim
communities.
It was important to ascertain the impact of
the training on the participants. Therefore,
before each training session, a baseline
survey was conducted to measure
participants understanding and their level of
knowledge on the LG Act and the powers of
the district councilors. After the training
session, an end-line survey was also
conducted which provided with a
comprehensive
measure
of
their
understanding of main concepts, roles,
responsibilities and skills and knowledge
after the trainings. Some of the results of the
KAP Study are shared here;
PRE & POST TRAINING EVALUATION
78% of the participants believed that
after the training their knowledge
regarding the LG act and the powers of
the district councilors improved.
19% of the participants believed that their
knowledge increased to some extent
Composition,
authorities
and
responsibilities
of district
government
Local
Government
ACT
Local
Government
property and
taxation
issues
Responsibility of
local
governments for
enforcement of
laws
Role and
function of
local
government
commission
Baseline
Survey
Composition,
functions
and powers
of district
councils
Budget,
financial
aspects and
audit of
district
councils
4
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
Radio Programs
“DA KALLI CHAARAY”
The media component of the project was
implemented by Centre for Research &
Security Studies (CRSS), which has an
established record in media programs. The
media component was based on the need for
creating awareness. Since the local
government in KP is an altogether new
system which is also different in nature from
other provinces, it was felt that connecting
the new Councilors with their constituents
was important. While the capacity building
phase directly benefited the councilors, the
radio shows in Peshawar and Kohat were
conducted separately for one month on
weekly basis. In total thirty radio shows, five
per week, were broadcast under the title of
‘Da Kalli Chaaray’ from FM-101.5 Peshawar,
FM-101.5 Kohat, and simultaneously through
CRSS and PEAD Foundation’s websites via a
strategic
partnership
with
Pakistan
Broadcasting Corporation (PBC). Out of
these 30, 15 programs were produced and
aired from district Kohat through FM-101.5
Kohat, and 15 from FM 101.5 Peshawar,
covering the majority of the areas of the
district Kohat, and northwestern Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Province (KP) and the
connecting Federally Administered Tribal
Areas (FATA).
The programs were composed of two key
parts;

In the first part of the radio
program,
District
councilors
discussed
the
roles
and
responsibilities of their offices
while also disseminating the
knowledge to their constituents.

In
the
second
part,
LG
representatives engaged with
citizens via live studio interaction
and live calls/SMS messages. This
increased the target audience and
also provided them an opportunity
to enhance their communication
skills.
30 field stories were also produced, and were
made the part of the radio programs. Out of
these 30, 15 field stories were collected from
district Kohat and 15 were collected from
district Peshawar by deploying CRSS trained
reporters in both districts.
For radio shows production, theme for each
field story was researched by the producer
and was assigned then to the trained
reporter. During each story, proper
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
mentoring was being provided to better lay
out the story on the thematic areas.
5
RADIO PROGRAM GLIMPSES
Impact and Public Outreach
Overall 75 Studio guests took part in the
radio programs, including local government
representatives, lawyers, experts, and
journalists. Women and minorities were also
engaged effectively to better communicate
their views about their rights under the
umbrella of local government system. Out of
these, 44 took part in radio program
broadcast on FM-101.5 Kohat studio and 31
on FM-101.5 Peshawar studio.
The listeners showed a great level of interest
in the radio programs by participating
through live and off-air calls, mobile calls,
and text messages. Overall 171 callers
participated and shared their views, both live
and off-air during programs. The programs
received 50 live calls and 75 text messages
through a dedicated mobile number for radio
shows, stating the program feedback,
suggestion, and highlighting regional issues
about the local government system.
Communication
with
the
elected
representatives was very crucial for their
communities. It provided a pathway to raise
awareness among them about the local
problems. This campaign provided a
platform for listeners to interact with their
representatives and discuss their issues.
This advocacy campaign changed listener’s
attitudes and behaviors about the powers
and responsibilities of their elected LG
representatives. Public expectations were
very high from their elected representative,
but the ‘Da Kalli Chaaray’ episodes focused
on the rule of business of LG representatives,
their responsibilities, and role in the local
development. That sensitized the audience
about the LG system. Listeners were
informed, guided, and advocated to interact
with their representatives.
Youth and minorities remained the focus of
episodes from Districts Peshawar and Kohat
under the umbrella of ‘Da Kalli Chaaray”
program. Minorities and youth councilors
took part in the live shows and highlighted
their powers, responsibilities, and the hurdles
they are facing in the LG system. The Pashtu
language radio programs “Da Kalli Chaaray”
were also transcribed into English to
communicate to a large number of people.
Their audio files along with transcriptions
were uploaded to CRSS facebook page that
has more than 4500 audience. More than
5000 people have viewed Da Kalli Chaaray
posts on the CRSS & PEAD Facebook pages.
Addressing Issues
District Nazim Peshawar Mohammad Asim addressing
the local issues of the callers live in Radio Program under
the project in FM 101.5 Peshawar Studio.
Hitting the Air Waves
Peshawar District Councilors Asia Khattak and Meena
Khan in live Radio Program, discussing local government
system
Live through Radio
District Councilors of Kohat, Sheryar Khalid, Rukhsana
Israr and Javaid Masih discussing the status of minorities
in a live Radio Show
TOTAL RADIO PROGRAMS
There are total 30 Radio Programs
15 were aired from Peshawar FM 101.5
15 were aired from Kohat FM 101.5
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
Social Action Plans
Development of Social Action plan was one
of the key components of the capacity
building workshops. Participants, the District
Councilors, developed their own plans
focusing on specific needs for their
respective communities. District councilors
developed their plans with a set of
objectives. Follow up meetings with District
Members regarding their action plans were
carried out by the project staff and initially
few action plans were taken into
consideration.
Action Plan by Asia Khattak
Asia Khattak is a district member on reserved
seat for women from Peshawar and is a
prominent and vocal member in the district
government system. She participated in
training session on “Role and Responsibilities
of District Councilor” in Peshawar held on 12
& 14 January’ 2016. She initiated an
awareness campaign focusing on education
for girls in her area. Since a majority of her
constituents are illiterate, she believes it is
important to make them realize the
importance of education. In the second stage
of the plan, she aims at more targeted action
focusing on health and hygiene issues and
maternity. Her action plan was as:
“Make a volunteer team to
mobilize the community in
order to resolve the basic
issues of the community. For
the purpose not many
resources are required and it
will serve as a mitigation
team for resolving basic issues
in the community at their
own”
In the follow up meeting Ms. Asia Khattak
shared that the volunteer team will comprise
of students and active members of the
community.
Action Plan by Mehreen
Kamran
Ms. Mehreen Kamran, district member of
union council Bhana Mari participated in a
two-day capacity building workshop
organized for the district members on
reserved seats at Peshawar shared her social
action
plan
focusing
on
the
“promotion
of
Girls
Education” in her union council. She
Media Forum
is also raising voice for the Provision of safe
and accessible building for girls’ school in her
constituency.
Action Plan by Sameena
Paracha
Sameena Paracha is a very active district
councilor from Kohat. She is very proactive in
welfare work as well. The councilor shared
her social plan focusing on “Clean
Drinking Water”
through installation
of water filtration plants and hand pumps in
her constituency. She has raised this issue in
her district council assembly and is also
lobbying for grants to provide clean drinking
water to the people of Kohat.
A media Forum was organized on January 15,
2015 in Kohat on the theme of ‘Connecting
Local Governments and Local Media’ at
Millennium Guest House, Kohat. The local
government representatives and journalists
participated in first-ever media forum
arranged to connect local media and local
government representatives through a
shared mechanism thus enabling them to
address the core community issues in
respective areas.
Mr. Javed Masih is another very active
district member from Kohat. He is
representing minority communities and
attended the capacity building training
workshop. He shared his action plan focusing
on
“Harmony
and
25 persons, including members of electronic
and print media, local government
representatives and stakeholders took part in
the forum. The forum was covered by print
and electronic media, including AVT Khyber,
Express Tribune, Frontier Post, Radio
Pakistan Kohat and Peshawar. This forum
was also utilized to use media to promote the
efforts for increasing citizens’ understanding
about LG system and strengthening their
engagement.
Peacebuilding”
Press Coverage Links
Action Plan by Javed Masih
While sharing his
action plan he added that during recent
years, Kohat was targeted by the militants
and terrorists. He said that to gain the
support from the locals, terrorists disrupted
the social fabric of harmony and peace in
Kohat and discrimination against minorities
and sectarianism surfaced in Kohat. He is
raising awareness among the people on
peacebuilding and respect of one’s belief. He
is also working for the rights of the minorities
guaranteed in the Constitution of Pakistan.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/1028198/cometogether-media-lg-officials-connectthrough-forum/
http://thefrontierpost.com/article/368870//
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E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
District Councilors
Assembly
PEAD Foundation and CRSS joint organized
the District Councilors Assembly, a
concluding event of the project, to highlight
the achievements and successes, at the
Islamabad Club on 28 January, 2016. The
event not only brought all the stakeholders,
including the Canadian High Commissioner
Ms. Heather Cruden, representative from
CFLI Ms. Attiya Hidayat, District Councilors
from Peshawar and Kohat, PEAD Foundation
and CRSS project teams but also provided a
platform to the major beneficiaries, District
Councilors, to share their own experiences
and feedback on the effectiveness of the
project.
Mr. Imtiaz Gul, Executive Director Center for
Research & Strategic Studies (CRSS)
welcomed the participants and briefly
discussed the objectives and goals of the
program. He stressed on the need for more
focused
and
larger
programs
for
strengthening Local Government System in
Pakistan since it formed the foundation of
democracy in the country.
Ms. Sameena Imtiaz, Executive Director
Peace Education And Development (PEAD)
Foundation, thanked the Canadian High
Commissioner for supporting the initiative
and congratulated the District Councilors for
their support in completion of the program.
She highlighted the impact of the short-term
project with results from the pre and post
training surveys held with District Councilors
to show how their understanding on basic
issues of Local Government had increased
during the course of the project.
PEAD Foundation and CRSS team members
gave briefings on the other aspects of the
project including social action plans and radio
programs. The District Councilors shared
their feedback and termed it a valuable
project which had helped them increase
their understanding and knowledge of
their own work. They said such programs
should be held more often. Some of the
District Councilors shared their social
action plans devised during the course of
the project with support of PEAD
Foundation. These included;
The minority representative councilor
Javed Masih from Kohat has highlighted
the issue of burial place for his
community. He informed that there was
only one graveyard from the British era
time. The councilor informed the
assembly that apart from the fact that the
burial place had not enough room, there
was also the problem of underground water
which was hazardous and made it impossible
to bury dead bodies.
The action plan of Dr. Riffat a female district
member from Peshawar focuses on social
and economic empowerment of women
through establishment of skill centers for
illiterate girls in local community and an
employment center for skilled and literate
girls. The councilor is engaged with the
District Nazim and Naib Nazim while she has
already identified the premises and resources
required for the successful implementation
of the plan.
This is another plan focused by Female
district councilor of Peshawar Ms. Mehreen
Kamran on access to education for female
students. Realizing the local school for girls
was not easily accessible for females
resulting in low enrollment, the councilor has
embarked on an ambitious plan to convert a
local police station into a girls school which
would not only be easily accessible to local
girls but is also located in a safer place. She
has identified another location for the police
station which she thinks is more appropriate
and is currently engaged with the local
administration for moving ahead with the
plan.
7
E- NEWSLETTER CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
A female district councilor from Kohat also
highlighted the issue of female education in
her area. She said there was low literacy as
females were dropping out of schools after
primary education. She said apart from
cultural barriers, most families do not want
to send their girls to far off schools involving
travelling distances. She said she wanted to
build schools which would be easier to access
which will help in increasing the enrollment
of female students.
Address by Ms. Heather
Cruden, Canadian High Commissioner
Canadian High Commissioner Ms. Heather
Cruden addressing the event praised the
commitment of the District Councilors. She
said she felt privileged and honored to be the
part of the event. She lauded the passion of
the district councilors to serve their
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
communities saying their social action plans
were a proof of how deeply in touch with
their community issues they were. She
affirmed the commitment of Canada for
development of Pakistan while appreciating
the Local Government system saying
decentralization of power at grass root level
was very important to make a government
accountable.
“Democracy, Rule of law & Human Rights are
the core Canadian values and democracy is
integral to promote peace building. The
diversity of Pakistani culture is the strength
of democracy in Pakistan, education to
women is very important in Pakistan and
local governments are particularly very
important to ensure democracy at the lower
level.” She said. She concluded with the
statement that We believe prosperous
Pakistan lies in transparent electoral system,
strong legislative body, vibrant civil
society and freedom of speech”.
She also congratulated PEAD & CRSS on
accomplishing the project in timely
manner saying that only with collective
efforts we can build a strong democratic
Pakistan.
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E-NEWSLETTER: CAPACITY BUILDING OF DISTRICT COUNCILORS
PEAD Foundation- February 2016
ABOUT
US
PEAD
Foundation
CRSS is an independent think
tank firmly rooted in research
and advocacy. Its diverse
portfolio addresses several
contemporary
issues
including rule of law, counterradicalization, peace and
security, democracy and
governance, equal citizenry,
rights and responsibilities,
and social cohesion. CRSS
leverages a vast array of tools
and services to prompt critical
thinking through a discourse
embedded in the universally
acknowledged
democratic
values. CRSS observes and
analyzes
developments,
discusses and disseminates
ideas and provides fora for
technocrats, academics and
members of civil society within and outside of
Pakistan - to suggest
solutions for development
and positive change in
Pakistan.
www.pead.org.pk
www.crss.pk
[email protected]
[email protected]
Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS)
Peace Education And Development (PEAD) Foundation
Peace
Education
And
Development
(PEAD)
Foundation is a non-profit
organization, registered in
2002, engaged in efforts for
de-radicalization
and
countering
violent
extremism
since
its
inception with Sameena
Imtiaz as the Executive
Director. PEAD has grown in
numbers and the nature of
its work expanded over the
years, which started with a
focus on the Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa
(KPK)
province and Federally
Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA) during the turbulent
years following 9/11. At
present, PEAD has a
national presence in more
than 23 districts across
Pakistan,
working
on
various projects related to
its core focus areas including
peace building and social
cohesion,
interfaith
harmony, democracy and
governance.
CRSS