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For a democratic Pakistan, more power needs to be given to local governments
In Pakistan, politicians and bureaucrats have visibly – and gradually – deprived the citizenry of their voices and their resources.
Those in power and authority view local representation as a burden, but they use it as a means to pamper and oblige their pocket constituencies.
By compromising the electoral process, decision-makers of the provincial and federal governments are easily able to divert resources to specific voter constituencies as opposed to the general public.
Challenges faced by local governments in implementing the Local Government Ordinances 2013 are due to the limited operational space given to them by the federal and provincial governments.
As part of my Phd thesis, I had a chance to interact with various stakeholders and interest groups as well as witness firsthand the mistrust towards local governments in Pakistan.
Our risk-averse politicians, who presently control resources in league with district bureaucracy, are accustomed to the politics of thana and tehsil.
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They view any change to the status quo as a threat to themselves. These are people who were born and nurtured by the same local councils of the erstwhile Zia-ul-Haq dictatorship.
The bitter taste of Musharraf-era local governments still lingers in their mouths; those were the times when the zila nazim-dominated areas were as big as five to six constituencies of a Member of National Assembly.
The nazims had vast resources at their disposal. The use of these nazims for raising a new political leadership, by-passing political parties, is another powerful factor.
Fast forward to today and the current democratic dispensation – at the centre and provincial levels – is creating hurdles in one form or the other to stop devolution of power to the grassroots.
In all four provinces, local governments are, in one way or another, subordinated to the dictates of provincial governments.
So much so, even basic functions – which can be turned into lucrative contracts, such as garbage collection – have been taken off the list of subjects on which local authority can act.
All financial powers now rest with the deputy commissioners' offices. As representatives of provincial governments, they have the authority to release funds, and audit zila councils.
Explore: Local governments are key to effective implementation
If the local representation is to have any real meaning in contributing to the lives of citizens, it needs to have the resources and authority to address the provision of services and the challenges of development.
This requires a change of heart by provincial governments towards their respective local governments in the true spirit of the 18th Amendment, along with the empowerment of the local government structures.
Secondly, synergy between bureaucracy and local representatives is a prerequisite for a meaningful solution to local problems.
Playing favourites can hinder and distort the flow of service delivery to citizens.
As always, the average individual remains deprived of solutions to problems of local nature.
Self governance through local bodies is in the true spirit of the constitution. Provincial governments' leverage over local governments should be done away with to help them dispense services to the people.
A district chairman who can serve as the regulator for the entire district should be directly or indirectly elected.
Elected mayors and councilors should also be empowered as ‘justices of peace’ to assist the police in the control of law and order.
Councilors should have a lead role in initiatives like community policing and neighbourhood watch, in addition to serving the people of the area by providing civic amenities and development at local level.
Councilors and mayors need vision and perseverance to achieve this goal. They need to remember that no one gives up powers voluntarily.
Also read: Sindh local government set-up explainer
There are many ways for local government representatives to gain recognition from constituents and the trust of provincial and central governments.
It could be one of many things like dovetailing city/council plans to the execution of provincial government initiatives in polio eradication, elimination of dengue, anti-food adulteration drive, price control, anti-quackery, crack down on child labour, elimination of illiteracy, land revenue collection, and federal causes such as census.
Local communities are naturally more accessible, more sympathetic, and quicker to respond to local needs. The local government is the directly available source for citizens to get in contact with governmental structures in the everyday course of life.
If democracy is strengthened at the local level, then the necessary access to information will make local people more participatory.
They will take interest in affairs affecting their daily lives. They will advocate for the rights and amenities that they deserve, seeking redress from provincial authorities.
Now, the challenge lies with the political parties in power at the provincial level to decentralise power to the local governments.
With them lies the onus of making service delivery efficient and equitable and to ensure that democracy and devolution prevail.
Building sustainable cities – and a sustainable future – will facilitate in opening dialogue among all the branches of the national, regional and local governments.
It requires the engagement of all stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, and especially the poor and the marginalised.
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations is also closely linked to the integrity of local governance. It will be impossible to achieve the Goals without considering the future of devolution of power to the people.
Dr Kalsoom Sumra is currently working as Assistant Professor at the Center for Policy Studies, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad.
The views expressed by this writer and commenters below do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.
Comments (22) Closed
More power to the people makes perfect sense. The closer you are to the grassroots the more the chance of looking after specific local needs.
A small article in a daily newspaper is not going to help at all. Dr. Sumra probably knows that the lawmakers and the Prime Minister do not read the bill & proposals in the parliament. There should be a public demand thru their representatives for a reform and immediate change. Zia & Musharraf era is gone and we should go back to the old local government policy. The current money distribution system in the past has brought corruption and misuse of powers and the public funds by either the MNA or Nzims in the past. If anyone doubts they should go the Karachi.
Musharraf gave more powers to local governments. With the so called "return of democracy" after Musharraf these powers are taken back. So actually Musharraf time was more democratic than now.
Is there democracy in this country?
While we remain caught up in the political circus at the federal level, this the most pertinent of issues has been allowed to linger on unattended. Supreme Court after ensuring the holding of LB elections, lost interest in the follow up with the result that it makes no difference if the elections had not been held at all, especially in the case of Karachi and Sindh's urban areas: Lahore has been spared the same fate as Karachi because at least the power centre of the province is solidly based in Lahore whereas in Sindh, by a quirk of political jugglery, the power centre has been permanently shifted to its rural areas. The results of Sindh's massive decline compared to Punjab, or for that matter, KPK is there for every one to see.
l was a supporter of local bodies power but after 2000 I experienced the difference and totally oppose it now. It looks like a very romantic idea, but in reality it isn't. Locals have their own prejudices and they use all the power they have for their personal agenda and against the "opposition'. It makes the lives of the poor masses miserable. Commissioner rule is a much better option. we had a wonderful Karachi under commissioner system.
Keep dreaming.
@Nizamuddin Ahmad Aali Karachi is exceptional case and that can also be managed but closer centralisation is not the solution.
This seems to be the root cause of underdevelopment and corruption in the country. One would expect that empowering local govts can lead to improvement in those areas.
I like your one sentence paragraphs though.
Sharifs, Zardari and the likes are afraid of devolution because at heart they are not democrats but autocrats. That's also the main reason that they are against Imran Khan who is challenging the status quo, though some of us may differ with his path to achieve this objective but devolution is the only way to true democracy.
MPAs and MNAs should only be doing legislation or laying down policy framework. Roads, sanitation, urban transport, etc should be left to the local bodies.
It will never happen landlords of Sindh and Punjab will continue to use this country as there private property.
Only PTI in KP is making real effort to bring about a devolved, accountable LB system with financial and political power. Even to them I will give a 4 on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best. All other provinces get either 0 or 1.
The most affected is the urban areas of Sindh as the New Sindhis settled in Urban Sindh has no representation in administration,development or jobs and this is not good for us. Local governments and local administration is a must for smooth functioning of the system.
In the current system, only around 1000 elected people (you need to buy 500 of them) decide the affairs of a country with 200m people. If the local government is in place, the number of elected people will be around 100,000 people. It is easier to control 1000 elected people compared to 100,000. Obviously the current leadership is not capable of managing 100,000 elected people. It is in the interest of the present leadership that the local government is not in place.More democracy means more elected empowered people. You have a choice between democracy that goes through local government or at least more provinces, or no democracy.
@Ayub I disagree with your comment. I think that you will find the problems people face are nearly the same in every corner of the country regardless of representation from the voters background or not. An elected official has a responsibility to all of their constituents regardless of where they are from. It really comes down to poor governance and infrastructure.
The basic principle of democracy is that an elected body should not be governed by an appointed officer. I personally feel the local government election should be on a non-party basis and local bodies should be responsible for making the arrangements for provincial and federal elections.
A very well written piece stressing upon grassroot level changes. It will enable us not only to change but bring an inate sense of progress. But when will it happen in a true sense is still a mystery.
The entire system of governance is archaic, out-dated & obsolete. Instead of a 2-tier system, the Constitution must be amended to create a mandatory 3-tier system with Federal, Provincial & Local Governments. Maximum administrative & financial powers be devolved to the Local level, including Indirect Taxation (Sales Tax, etc.). The Provinces should mostly play the role of a watch dog. The Provinces are much too large & unwieldly to be useful or efficient. Therefore, New Provinces be created wherever feasible.
The 18th Amendment was a farce & did not provide meaningful or sensible devolution. The Local Government systems introduced in the Zia & Musharraf eras were commendable but need much improvement & the reforms must be bolder & more courageous.
Of course, all this cannot be achieved through the parliamentary process as the elite classes will never give up their privileges peacefully. A revolution is needed.
Dr. KS: I am pleased to find a voice of reason emanating from the Punjab / Islamabad. I thought that all the free thinking, progressive and forward looking people only lived in Karachi.
It's all about implementing:
and imparting:
If that works; Local Governments will be just plain awesome.
dr.kalsoom article