KARACHI: Prerequisites for good governance discussed
KARACHI, May 25: At the concluding session of the Ombudsman Sindh Seminar held on Tuesday, speakers representing the civil administration, NGOs and intellectuals defined the imperatives of good governance and legal remedies.
Chief Justice Sindh High Court Sabihuddin Ahmad, who was chief guest of the evening, said the authority given to a government functionary was only a trust and must be used with care. In cases where a rule was not clearly defined, the officer should act in public interest.
Replying to comments of a police officer regarding delays in the process of investigation, the chief justice reminded that the first thing in the process was to lodge an FIR at the police station. He said there was a general complaint in this regard by common people.
Among those who spoke on the subject included MNA Kunwar Khalid Younus, DG NAB Maj-Gen Mukhtar Ahmad, Nazim Khairpur Nafeesa Shah, Director IBA Danishmand, Prof Shamim Akhtar, Nargis Rahman from an NGO, Director IBA Sukkur Nisar Siddiqui and Nayyar Hasnain, representing the PPU.
Nisar Ahmad initiating the debate said good governance was very important in economic planning and development. The question was how to measure good governance and reach the goal.
There were many indicators in this regard; the level of police and civil administration, and human rights, political stability, government’s effectiveness, quality of public service, rule of law and control of corruption.
Some indicators may also be misleading as the de facto position may be different from the de jure.
Prof Shamim Akhtar advised establishing a participatory political system, rule of law, fair and humane labour laws, transparency and accountability – all essentials for investment.
He quoted a World Bank report published recently that every year $100 million in Pakistan were pilfered in bribes.
The professor said transparent and independent elections should periodically be held to form a government accountable to the people.
Kunwar Khalid Younus drew the government’s attention “towards a looming, systematic and an anti-city drive by the encroachment mafia, which is disfiguring the city since the last 40 years.”
He complained that “neither has the provincial administration any will to stop this encroachment tide, as it has its own interests interlinked with the mafia, nor are the present rules sufficient to help the administration.”
“I beg the governor and the chief justice to listen to the plight of this city,” he said.
Nafeesa Shah complained of snags in the functioning of the local government and said it had no place in the constitution.
There was political instability and the system itself was faulty, she said. “If problems confronting the people are not solved, the local government will fail to function,” she said.
The Director IBA, Mr Danishmand, observed that justice was not ingrained in our culture. He complained that many parallel judicial systems were functioning in the country, creating loopholes for criminals to run away. “There should be one judicial system for the entire country,” Mr Danishmand suggested.
Maj-Gen Mukhtar Ahmad, the DG NAB, said corruption and bad governance, and accountability and good governance were two sides of the same coin. Effective laws and their implementation, a strong civil society, and the media, all working in coalition, will bring in good governance, he observed.
The closing remarks were delivered by Sindh Ombudsman Yousuf Jamal.—HA
