The cornerstone of a functional, and resilient democracy is local governance. As democracy becomes something concrete, it is in the grassroots that it can be felt, where governance meets closest to citizens’ everyday lives. But evolution of democratic institutions in Pakistan has been sullied by authoritarian interludes, institutional fragility and tendencies to centralize. In such a difficult context, a durable path for deepening democracy and participatory governance that stands resilient for the long haul is provided by a competent local government system.
Despite the constitutional clarity, political will for institutionalization and operationalization of local governance is markedly deficient
There is no doubt about the constitutional foundations of local government in Pakistan. Article 140-A of the constitution directs all the provinces to ‘establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments.’ And this provision stood reinforced by the landmark 18th Constitutional Amendment, aimed at recalibrating the governance model of Pakistan to more decentralized, federal architecture from centralized control. Despite the constitutional clarity, political will for institutionalization and operationalization of local governance is markedly deficient.
Local governments empowered provide a myriad of benefits to the democratic and developmental process. Equally important, they localize governance such that decisions may be taken with context sensitivity and sensitivity to needs of community. As in all countries the composition of which reflects sharply different socio political and ethnolingual entities, local governance provides the necessary basis for inclusive representation in a country as complex as Pakistan. Through participation of marginalized groups that are usually marginalized in the national and provincial politics, it enhances democratic legitimacy and social equity.
If structured in the right way, local governments can be incubators of innovation in delivery of services by allowing governance models to shape to local context
The worldwide evidence show that local governments are more effective in delivering core public services like sanitation, clean water, local infrastructures and public health than a centralized bureaucracy. On account of their proximity to citizens, they are more accountable; they are directly in touch with their constituents and receive more direct pressure, thus stronger performance incentives, than those at provincial or federal level. Additionally, if structured in the right way, local governments can be incubators of innovation in delivery of services by allowing governance models to shape to local context.
Local governments have other functions besides service delivery, for example serving as a stabilizer in plural societies. And they are key platforms for matters of deliberation, consensus and resolution of conflicts. Local bodies institutionalise their dialogue that mitigates sectarian, ethnic, and communal tensions. Social capital, trust and a sense of shared belonging is cultivated among them—needed ingredients of national cohesion.
The decentralization is economically a means to plan for a more strategic and locally oriented development. They can intervene to identify regional comparative advantages, attract and support investment and small and medium sized enterprises. Decentralization achieves such efficiency and responsiveness through a reduction of inefficiencies, overlaps, and dead weight of public resource allocation. Participatory economic governance is also created that allows communities to take ownership of their trajectory of development.
Local elections, when they occur, are devoid of meaningful devolution, and the provinces continue control over finances and the administrative machinery
Pakistan’s experience with local governance is however characterized by chronic discontinuity as well as weak institutionalization and devolution even as a token. Local governments are seen in less as the light of democratic empowerment by successive governments and more as political liabilities. Consequently, this has led to cycles within cycles of the establishment and dismantling of local systems, preventing their institutional growth. What is more troubling is that those local elections, when they occur, are devoid of meaningful devolution and the provinces continue control over finances and the administrative machinery.
Three major deficits of local governance framework in Pakistan have consistently been identified by the experts as power, resources (police and financial), and accountability. Fiscal transfers, administrative autonomy and legal safeguards have not been put in place without which local governments remain structurally incapacitated. Among all the provinces, only Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has really given its local governments the power to make the decisions they are supposed to make and given them the control of the finances they are supposed to have, observed Marc-André Franche, former UNDP Country Director, for Pakistan.
Pakistan desperately needs a renewal of political consensus that would make local government a necessary democratic tier, not a threat to provincial authority
To end this cycle, Pakistan desperately needs a renewal of political consensus that would make local government a necessary democratic tier, not a threat to provincial authority. It requires the formulation and enactment of substantive laws which ensure political, administrative, as well as fiscal autonomy of the local bodies. Besides, more emphasis must be put on capacity building initiatives to develop the professionalism of local governance and strengthen institutional effectiveness.
Strengthening of local government is not a policy option but a constitutional, developmental and democratic necessity in Pakistan’s continuing democratic journey
It is us who will decide whether the constitutional promise of local governance will be a reality or not, and the future of Pakistan’s democracy is dependent upon it. Citizens empowerment at the base is not a marginal objective, it is key for democratic consolidation. In this backdrop, strengthening of local government is not a policy option but a constitutional, developmental and democratic necessity in Pakistan’s continuing democratic journey.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.
