OVER a year after the electoral process had begun, Balochistan finally has an elected third tier of government. With the election of mayors, deputy mayors and chairmen of district and union councils on Wednesday, Balochistan has become Pakistan’s only province to currently have elected local bodies.

While there is some talk of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa holding the polls a few months from now, there is silence in Punjab and Sindh on the question of dates when it comes to the crucial elections.

However, compared to the state’s apparent disinterest in holding the polls in these provinces, MNAs have managed to pull off quite a feat by securing funds for their respective constituencies.

Also read: UNDP urges poll system enjoying voters’ trust

As reported on Thursday in this paper, the government has decided to give lawmakers in the National Assembly development grants of Rs20 million per year under the head of ‘community development schemes’.

The PML-N was said to be under considerable pressure from the lawmakers to release the funds and the lobbying has clearly paid off. Yet keeping the mantra of good governance in mind, the money will be routed through the district coordination officers, to ensure that the bureaucracy and parliamentarians jointly oversee the disbursement of funds.

A similar scheme of funds’ distribution was tried under the previous PPP administration but was criticised for mismanagement. While diverting funds towards development activities in all districts is a good idea, we must question the spirit of this move, especially in light of the state’s disinterest in LG polls.

Essentially, overseeing development work at the grass roots is the domain of local bodies, and that is where the funds should be going. But since there are no elected local representatives in three provinces, MNAs — along with the bureaucracy — have assumed this role. Is this in line with the spirit of decentralisation and devolution, or does it smack of the old thinking where elected local bodies were viewed as a threat to power?

The government’s move to grant funds appears to confirm the feeling that both the rulers and MNAs are least interested in the holding of LG polls. It is unfortunate that the people’s representatives are proving to be the primary obstacle in the path of elected local governments, perhaps afraid that their power and influence will be eroded if citizens turn to local governments to solve routine civic problems.

As a minister told this paper, the release of funds is designed to “engage local communities who could take ownership of the schemes through these grants”.

Instead of such schemes, the best way to engage and empower local communities is to pave the way for local elections, so that people can choose their representatives at the grass roots. If Punjab, Sindh and KP’s lawmakers are truly sympathetic to their constituents’ concerns, they should lobby their governments with equal fervour to hold LG polls at the earliest.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2015

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