KARACHI: Two systems pulling in different directions: New govt setup
By Habib Khan Ghori
KARACHI, March 15: The new system of local government is under attack from legislators and ministers who see no role for themselves in development projects to be executed in their respective constituencies.
Since the revival of democracy, polarization is brewing up between the district government and legislators.
Although the Sindh local government minister has denied any rift between the Sindh and the local governments, he said such a situation had been created by the vested interest.
However, the Sindh cabinet, taking a clue from the on-going controversy between the provincial authorities and the district government, has set up a task force to receive proposals from different departments, ministers and legislators for sending them to the National Reconstruction Bureau for making necessary amendments to the SLGO.
Under the devolution plan, the role of the provincial government was of a facilitator to the district government in discharging its responsibilities.
In Sindh, out of 23 departments, 12 have been devolved to the district government, leaving only 11 departments with the province.
In addition to this, the corresponding umbrella departments would also be at the provincial level to ensure a chain of command, coordination and policy direction.
However, with the announcement that each member of the provincial assembly will be given Rs 5 million for local development, the district governments are considering it a curtailment of their power, as in the SLGO the role of legislators was only to indulge in policy issues.
Likewise, transfer/posting in the police and the local government, without taking the City Nazim into confidence, has created an atmosphere of mistrust between the two systems.
Taking notice of a row between the provincial and district governments over sharing of power, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali defended the devolution scheme, saying there should be no dispute between the elected representatives and Nazims as both were elected to resolve the problems of the people and were supposed to work within their parameters.
They should sit together and work for the betterment of the system, and the federal government was there to provide them necessary guidelines.
In view of the obstacles in the implementation of devolution, particularly want of fiscal powers, non-transfer of Kutchi Abadis Authority, Karachi Water and Sewerage Authority, Karachi Building Control Authority which as per SLGO ought to be merged with the city government, and the new row over sharing of power between the provincial and the local governments, the situation calls for an immediate attention of the NRB to sort out the differences before the nascent system comes to a stand-still.
In addition, there is a need to find it out why measures were being taken half-heartedly even in the setting up of a public safety commission, and why district ombudsman office, police complaints authority, and citizens community boards were being ignored to monitor police performance and deal with corruption and serious complaints against federal law-enforcement agencies.
These institutions are yet to be notified while the advisory committees and local government commissions, formed recently, are yet to start functioning.
