It is a matter of great satisfaction for me and my team to present this Training Manual on “Development Priorities Identification and Processing (D-PIP)” for Village and Neighbourhood councils, developed with the technical assistance of GIZ under the leadership of Local Governance School, LGER&DD, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as a result of intensive and extensive consultation, Focused Group Discussion and pre-testing exercise by national and international experts. Local Government Act-2013, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has devolved the political, administrative and financial powers to the elected local governments. Elected councillors Nazimeen has the authority and responsibility for the identification, prioritization and approval of development priorities at local level.
The new local government system in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a bold and revolutionary step to bring the state closer to the citizens. It is a universal fact that the establishment of an effective local government system is a long process that requires different progressive measures to strengthen this new system. Local Government Elections and Rural Development Department (LGE&RDD) has taken various measures to further strengthen the new local government system and empower citizens at the grass-root level.
We understand that the sacred cause of good governance cannot be achieved without the meaningful participation of citizens’ in planning and budgeting processes by the local governments. Citizen participation is vital to ensure transparent and accountable service delivery and functioning of the government. However, it is also a fact that the objective of active citizen participation is a daunting challenge both for the local councillors and the public at large. Therefore the Provincial Government is committed to building the capacity of the local governments and for this purpose, we welcome advisory services of our valuable development partners to join hands to accomplish this important mission in a smooth and structured manner.
The training manual in hand entails the training methodology to identify development needs and priorities through a participatory process at a community level by village or neighbourhood councils and community activists through a step by step approach and engaging all-important stakeholders. The manual has been developed as a result of successful piloting in different villages and neighbourhood councils of the province under the auspices of Local Governance School and their trainers during 2016.
I would avail this opportunity to congratulate the Local Governance School for coming up with this important manual which will be a valuable addition to their current pool of knowledge and expertise. I also thank the German Federal Government, for their support in developing the manual on D-PIP methodology to facilitate participatory planning and budgeting at local level under KP LGA-2013 through Support to Development Planning (SDP), implemented by the GIZ.
SYED JAMAL UD DIN SHAH, Secretary to Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, LGE&RDD
To download the full manual click here
To download the supporting handouts click here