Provincial council members are protesting their loss of power. Two amendments approved by Parliament before it went into a long vacation have sparked controversy.
Lawmakers approved four new amendments to the election law, and dropped the power of provincial councils to monitor projects implemented by the government. They also gave their approval to eight of President Ashraf Ghani’s new cabinet nominees, and amended the media law. A new media transgressions commission will be set up under the minister of culture and information. Simultaneously, the powers of the independent Media Commission have been clipped, and added to the new media transgression commission whose members will be paid salaries by the government.
Ahmad Zaki, a member of the Kabul provincial council feels the decisions by Parliament are not beneficial for people. “The basis for the decisions was whether or not they were in Parliament’s interests,” he says. Lawmakers have sent 10 names of nominees for cabinet positions back to the government. The government’s nominee, Rahimatullah Nabil, was approved as head of the National Directorate of Security.
The draft law on the mentoring and consulting role of provincial councils was prepared by IDLG (Independent directorate of Local Governance) on the orders of President Ghani. The amendments, spread over seven chapters and 41 articles, were approved by members of Parliament (MPs) on Jan 28. Henceforth, provincial council members can only consult and not monitor local officers.
In retaliation, provincial councils throughout the country have shut their doors in protest, and threatened massive protests if the Wolesi Jirga does not review the amendments. Provincial council members including those from Nimroz, Kandahar, Laghman, Balkh, Kunar and Nooristan have urged President Ghani not to sign the amended law. Article 139 of the Constitution guarantees the right of provincial councils to participate in meeting the development goals of the government.
Zaki argues against a powerless provincial council. He says shorn of its power to monitor, “there is no need to keep such a huge budget for the provincial council”. Although both MPs and provincial council members are elected by people, “some MPs have abused their powers for their own advantage”, he alleges.
In Herat, provincial council members say the decision to take away their monitoring powers will fuel administrative corruption. Kamran Alizai, chief of the provincial council, says unless the provincial council has the power to evaluate government performance it will lose its “effectiveness in the life of people”.
Another member from Herat, Samia Ramesh, feels Parliament is seeking to strengthen its own power by weakening provincial councils. “If the president endorses the amendments, we will protest,” she says.
Provincial councils in Sar-e Pol and Jowzjan called press conferences to protest. Mohammad Noor Rahmani, the head of the Sar-e Pol council, said they have been rendered powerless. For one week, the doors of the provincial council in Badghis have been closed. In Khost, members said they could not “meet the requests of people in a transparent manner” if their monitoring powers were taken away.
Abdul Wali Wahedzai, a council member in Khost told the media, “Parliament has approved the amendment unjustly.”
Several council members travelled to Kabul to attend a strategy meeting. Hasibullah Stanekzai, head of the Logar provincial council, told fellow participants, “MPs have dealt with the government (rejecting nominees to the cabinet) and reined in our authority.”
Ahmad Selab, representing the Kandahar provincial council, said Parliament must be forced to take back its decision. “We request the president not to play a chess game with Parliament and provincial councils and prevent approval of this law.” Others in the strategy meeting were representatives from Kabul, Parwan, Nimroz, Kandahar, Zabul, Panjsher, Kapisa, Kunduz, Farah, Maidan Wardak, and Daikundi.
Killid asked the Wolesi Jirga’s deputy secretary, Irfanullah Irfan. He denied the decision to ban provincial councils from monitoring was against Article 19 of the Constitution.
Meanwhile, Mateen Beg, acting director of IDLG, says the new draft had clearly defined the monitoring role of provincial councils in order to increase accountability and transparency.
Zaki from Kabul believes the council is a “bridge between people and the national assembly”. “If everything is done by Parliament, why have a national assembly?” he asks.
Jawed Zaman Ghamsherik of the Nangarhar provincial council the role of a consultant is not enough. “All governor and local institutions have their own advisors. There is no need then for provincial councils,” he says.
Media watch
Parliament’s amendments to the media law are also under fire. Sediqullah Tawhidi, head of the independent media organization Nai, doubts a commission to probe complaints against the press under the Ministry of Culture and Information can be impartial. “Parliament has not been attentive in passing the amendments,” he says.
Journalists are worried. Zafarshah Royee, a reporter with Hasht-e Sobh daily says, “A commission on media transgressions existed in the past. We saw how easily the minister summoned journalists he did not like.” Mujib Khelwatgar, a media activist, believes the right of liberty can be under question if the minister of culture and information becomes the head of media transgression. “The amendment contradicts Article 34 which promises right to liberty,” he says.
MPs were not aware of the risks to constitutional rights, says Sahira Sharif, MP from Khost who’s a member of the parliamentary cultural and religious affairs commission.
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