Devolution of power from central to local governments is important for good governance, especially in heterogeneous countries like Pakistan where many feel marginalized. Several attempts have been made over time to establish strong local governments through legislation, but power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats have undermined the system. For local governments to thrive, clear roles need to be defined, oversight established, capacity building provided, and consensus built between provincial and federal governments on any new models.
Devolution of power from central to local governments is important for good governance, especially in heterogeneous countries like Pakistan where many feel marginalized. Several attempts have been made over time to establish strong local governments through legislation, but power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats have undermined the system. For local governments to thrive, clear roles need to be defined, oversight established, capacity building provided, and consensus built between provincial and federal governments on any new models.
Devolution of power from central to local governments is important for good governance, especially in heterogeneous countries like Pakistan where many feel marginalized. Several attempts have been made over time to establish strong local governments through legislation, but power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats have undermined the system. For local governments to thrive, clear roles need to be defined, oversight established, capacity building provided, and consensus built between provincial and federal governments on any new models.
Devolution of power from central to local governments is important for good governance, especially in heterogeneous countries like Pakistan where many feel marginalized. Several attempts have been made over time to establish strong local governments through legislation, but power-hungry politicians and bureaucrats have undermined the system. For local governments to thrive, clear roles need to be defined, oversight established, capacity building provided, and consensus built between provincial and federal governments on any new models.
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Devolution of power
November 7, 2018 Abdul Rasool Syed
To ensure good governance, decentralization of the centralized dispensation in a federal structure is of
paramount importance. Devolution of power from the Centre to provinces and then from provinces to local level is an indispensable sine qua non for heterogeneous countries like Pakistan, where large segments of citizenry remain marginalized by the centralist and patronage-based governance mechanism. Political luminaries contend that the local government serves as a political nursery for churning out leaders at grass roots level. The perpetuity of the local governance therefore results in the emergence of dynamic and empathetic leadership. People who rise from grass roots have deep insight of the issues that the people living at the margins are faced with and are hence aptly capable of dealing with such issues effectively. Chronologically, after the independence, Pakistan’s first serious attempt to focus on local government occurred during martial law regime of General Ayub Khan. Since then, different versions of local government have been introduced and experimented by elected and non-elected governments. Ironically, during the democratic period of 1988-99, four democratically elected governments gained power, but none of them worked on the local government system. The next time Pakistan’s experiment with devolution was under General Pervez Musharraf. His devolutionary exercise was also a legitimizing strategy for his centralized rule, since it did not devolve power from the federal level to the provinces and instead focused on creating local governments on a non-party basis. Yet the local government ordinance (LGO) 2001 passed early in Musharraf’s tenure was quite ambitious in its scope. However, the passage of 18th Amendment was a pronounced step forward for the continuation and protection of the system. Clause 140 A (1) of this Amendment stipulated that “each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the governments” and 140 A (2) states that elections to the local government shall be held by Election Commission of Pakistan”. In addition, article 132 of Constitution ensures the participation of marginalized groups such as women, minorities, peasants and labourers in the local government elections. Despite enactment of enough legislation, the local government system could not thrive in our country. Power intoxicated politicians in cahoots with bureaucratic juggernaut created umpteen hurdles in the way of this system. One glaring example of it is that LG election in 2015 was conducted on the order of Supreme Court. It speaks volumes of attitude of State institutions towards local bodies. Moreover, the local government law says that federal government and provincial government will legislate while the development works would be done by the local governments. The situation on the ground is that the MNAs, MPAs and even the Senators want to have their say in the development work. This tug of war therefore results in institutional clash. However, Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed that he would not dole out development fund to MPAs and MNAs. This is undoubtedly a right step towards right direction. If it happens, there is strong possibility that local government will start bearing the fruits. Besides, there is still only about 15 percent of participation of women in lower tire of the government whereas the law requires 33 percent. Women’s inclusion as per requirement therefore should be enhanced. There should be a mechanism of fair representation of labourers as well. Another snag that hampers the performance of the local government system is the power of Chief Minister of the province to dissolve the local government at his whims. In exercise of this power, the local governments introduced by Pervez Musharaf were dissolved by provincial govts. Such powers need to be revoked forthwith. Notwithstanding of the aforementioned impediments, the following antidotes may be prescribed for the efficient delivery of the third tier of government: first, neither the constitution of Pakistan nor the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013 have any stipulated time for re-election of local bodies after completion of term or in case of early dissolution. That is why the Supreme Court has to intervene for the election of next term. This situation warrants a timely legislation with respect to timeframe at relevant legislative houses for the continuation of the system without any hiatus. Second, the government should initiate capacity building programs for the local representatives so that they might understand the rules of business and deliver up to the required touchstone. Third, the role of the parliamentarians and elected councilors should be clearly defined for overlapping of the role is a structural obstruction in smooth functioning of the local bodies. Federal as well as provincial legislators have nothing to do with the development funds. Fourth, the government should create a federal level institution to oversee the devolution process. The National Reconstruction Bureau established by the Musharaf Government as an independent federal institution to formulate LGO 2001 and oversee its implementation was dissolved in 2011. A similar entity without undermining the principles of provincial autonomy provided by eighteenth amendment, needs to be created. Fifth, the process of devolving fiscal responsibility to local governments needs to be managed with caution. Financial devolution must be accompanied by financial oversight. It is thus important to supplement existing accountability mechanisms, using third party and citizen audits of the local governments. Sixth and the last, the current government of PTI intends to introduce new local bodies where PTI has its government through direct elections for tehsil and district heads that run contrary to the prevalent system in Punjab. Under this dispensation, PTI plans to elect City Mayor directly by the people as it is practiced in London and Scandinavian countries. But the Sindh government has shown its reluctance to welcome any innovation. The sanity therefore demands that before introduction of any new system, the consensus of the provinces must be sought otherwise the situation may lead to Centre-Province disharmony. — The writer is Advocate at Balochistan High Court.
