The Prime Minister’s words from a speech on Friday indicate that the ruling party has noticed perhaps its largest failing since coming into power; the inability to keep the local government system going. The PTI government has often addressed the issue and pointed towards reforms, the pandemic and other reasons for not renewing grassroots governance in provinces such as KP, where it is in power. However, whatever the reason, the ultimate result is the same—power has not trickled down the way it should in order for our administrative services to be fully functional for the public.
The party has often stressed the importance of letting democracy take its course down to the last tehsil, which is why it is surprising that two years at the helm have not already led to the revolutionised system of local government that the PM referred to on Friday. Nevertheless, there is still time; time enough to follow through on the orders of the judiciary in KP and beyond and conduct the LG exercise as soon as possible.
Issues that escape the federal and provincial government’s notice are normally the purview of the local set-up. However in Pakistan, the inability of successive governments to make the local government exercise fruitful has led to a toothless practice that does little to alleviate the problems of the public at the district-level. Areas such as waste management, infrastructural upkeep and overall community development are all facets we have seen our country struggle in, with the potential solution all but ignored.
It is hoped that the current PTI government will strike a different path and actually get around to establishing a local model that does not need to be overhauled every term. Local government needs to be taken more seriously than it currently is, and now that the PM has turned his attention towards this issue, one can hope that there is quick resolution.
https://nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2020/local-governance
Local Governance: edit in The Nation, Dec 6, 2020
The Prime Minister’s words from a speech on Friday indicate that the ruling party has noticed perhaps its largest failing since coming into power; the inability to keep the local government system going. The PTI government has often addressed the issue and pointed towards reforms, the pandemic and other reasons for not renewing grassroots governance in provinces such as KP, where it is in power. However, whatever the reason, the ultimate result is the same—power has not trickled down the way it should in order for our administrative services to be fully functional for the public.
The party has often stressed the importance of letting democracy take its course down to the last tehsil, which is why it is surprising that two years at the helm have not already led to the revolutionised system of local government that the PM referred to on Friday. Nevertheless, there is still time; time enough to follow through on the orders of the judiciary in KP and beyond and conduct the LG exercise as soon as possible.
Issues that escape the federal and provincial government’s notice are normally the purview of the local set-up. However in Pakistan, the inability of successive governments to make the local government exercise fruitful has led to a toothless practice that does little to alleviate the problems of the public at the district-level. Areas such as waste management, infrastructural upkeep and overall community development are all facets we have seen our country struggle in, with the potential solution all but ignored.
It is hoped that the current PTI government will strike a different path and actually get around to establishing a local model that does not need to be overhauled every term. Local government needs to be taken more seriously than it currently is, and now that the PM has turned his attention towards this issue, one can hope that there is quick resolution.
https://nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2020/local-governance
Published in Pak Media comment and Pakistan