THE proposal presented by a federal minister to the effect that Pal(istan should either create 15 more provinces or establish around 160 fully empowered district governments deserves serious national debate. We must explore if creating more provinces is really the answer, or we should first make the existing local governments (LGs) genuinely powerful, financially independent and accountable. Why should there be another experiment when elected representatives and communities are against it? Besides, why should we jump from provinces to new provinces when the country already has districts, tehsils and union councils (UCs)? If the objective is better governance, improved social indicators and delivery of services at people’s doorsteps, the priority should be to empower and reform the existing LG system rather than simply redraw provincial boundaries. Pal(istan already has hundreds of administrative units. What these institutions lack is meaningful political authority, administrative capacity and predictable financial resources.
A UC, for instance, should not merely be an office for issuing official attestations.
Such institutions should become the primary vehicles for community-level development. Basic functions directly affecting people’s daily lives water supply, sanitation, hygiene, primary healthcare, basic education, agriculture extension, livestock development, irrigation management and community development should progressively be transferred to elected and empowered LGs. This would bring the government closer to the people without necessarily creating another expensive layer of administration.
The financial question is equally important. LGs cannot be expected to perform their responsibilities without due resources.There should be aregularand transparent Provincial Finance Commissionin every province. Besides, a constitutional or legislative mechanism should ensure that at least 20 per cent of the provincial share received from the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award gets transferred to LGs. This would lead to the creation of a predictable financial foundation for grassroots governance.
The minister’s concern about the limited number of public offices serving a huge population is valid. But we do not necessarily need to create new political structures to address that concern. We need to activate the institutions that already exist and place decision-mal(ing authority closer to citizens. Before dividing provinces, let us first divide power, responsibility and resources. We do not need more provincial capitals, assemblies, chief ministers, legislators and governors.
We need more empowered communities.
If the existing 169 districts across the country are genuinely empowered with elected leadership, professional administration, adequate finances and clearly defined responsibilities and if thousands of UCs are transformed into effective institutions of community development many of the governance problems currently being attributed to the size of the provinces could be addressed without creating new political boundaries, without causing political acrimony, and without producing hundreds of VIPs.
The debate initiated by the minister is welcome, but it should be broadened.
We should not simply worry about how many provinces Pal(istan should have.
We should focus on how we can take the government closer to the people and give citizens real control over the services that affect their everyday lives.
That is where the future of Pakistan’s governance may lie not in creating new provinces, but in creating strong, financially empowered and accountable LGs with full community participation.
Aijaz Ali Khuwaja Karachi