Good Governance and Public Access to Elected Officials
The latest episode of Jwandai Jazbey (Alive Spirit) focused on the level of public access to elected representatives and their demeanor towards the public. The episode highlighted that good governance requires public officials to prioritize public needs. This is counterbalanced by an informed electorate that demands accountability, and knows who to approach.
Mohammad Saleem Khan, Deputy Mayor Union Council-78, Peshawar, was a studio guest in the show. He stated that it is the core responsibility of elected members to address public issues. Since members of provincial and national assemblies legislate at the higher level, local government members are entrusted with every day public issues and welfare. He added that the public may not be clear on who to approach for which problems.
He further stated that a lack of funding is the biggest bottleneck in allowing them to serve the public. He said that approaching female members may be ineffective as they don’t get as much exposure as male members. Further, he added, they have not been given any funds thus far.
A CRSS correspondent report was played during the show. It highlighted the the role of elected female local government members, and how they are solving female issues.
Two listeners took part in the program through live calls.
About Sabawoon:
Sabawoon airs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) since 2011. It began as a counter-radicalization, strategic communications programme, designed to highlight and promote the fundamental governance values such as democracy, rule of law, women’s rights, and equal citizenry, social cohesion.
The show airs Monday through Thursday every week under four themes on FM-101.5 Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan 711 KHZ from 3:20 PM to 4:00 PM.
On Monday, Jarga Maraka covers current affairs and important regional issues with an input from government and other senior officials. On Tuesday, Da Simay Jaaj gives an overview of the top stories from KP and FATA regions. Jwandai Jazbey airs on Wednesday and deals with issues of relevance to, and significance for, youth, students and women. Socio-cultural affairs are discussed in Ranra on Thursday.
The primary objective of the show has been to underline the criticality of constitutionalism, fundamental rights, public accountability and the rule of law for countering extremism illegalities of all forms.