Devolution Policy of 2001

Submitted By:

Shafqat M Abbasi 1316-SE/BSC/F07 Raja Zain Ul Islam 1319-SE/BSC/F07 Tasawar Iqbal Chohan 1331-SE/BSC/F07 Sheikh Inam Ul Haq 1339-SE/BSC/F07 Submitted To: Sir Faiz Ur Raheem Subject: Public Finance

International Islamic University Islamabad

DEFINITION OF DEVOLUTION: Devolution is the transfer of resources and power to lower-level authorities which are largely or wholly independent of higher levels of government, and which are democratic in some way and to some degree. Devolution/Decentralization is not unique to Pakistan, but a global trend. Most developing countries are embracing decentralization whether in Latin America, Europe or East Asia. Decentralization is a worldwide phenomenon for at least two reasons a) need for political stability decentralization means dispersion of formal political power to elected local level politicians. This dispersion of power is global trend. Political scientists suggest that this is an outcome of the declining credibility of the centralized state. In a fundamental sense, decentralization is a strategy to maintain political stability; and b) more effective and efficient service delivery Decentralization is expected to achieve higher economic efficiency, better accountability, larger resource mobilization, lower cost of service provision and higher satisfaction of local preferences. According to this devolving resource allocation decisions to locally elected leaders can improve the match between the mix of services produced by the public sector and the preferences of the local population.

Devolution in Pakistan
In October 1999, the politically elected government was overthrown as the military took over power in Pakistan. The Military Government immediately came up with a seven point agenda to address the socalled institutional crisis and to advance national reconstruction. Seven Point Agenda The seven point agenda included the following: i) Rebuilding national confidence & morale ii) Strengthening the federation while removing inter-provincial disharmony iii) Reviving and restoring investor confidence iv) Ensuring law and order and dispensing speedy justice v) Depoliticizing state institutions vi) Devolving power to the grass root level vii) Ensuring swift and across the board accountability. National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) was entrusted with the task of undertaking the exercise with multiple aims of restructuring of political and service structures through devolution of power including empowerment of citizens, decentralization of administrative authority, decentralization of professional functions, and distribution of financial resources to the provincial and local governments with checks and balances against misuse of power and authority through the diffusion of power authority nexus. NRB put forward the Local Government Plan in year 2000. According to this plan, in the existing system of governance at the local level, the province governs the districts and tehsils directly through the bureaucracy at the division, district and tehsil levels. And the local government for towns and cities exist separately from those of the rural areas. The provincial bureaucratic set-ups are the designated controlling authorities of the local governments, and tend to undermine and over-ride them, which breeds a colonial relationship
3

of ruler and subject. The Plan proposed to address these issues by introducing a model described as 5Ds which is explained by the following diagram:

5Ds of New Local Government System

According to the Plan, the system is designed to ensure that the genuine interests of the people are served and their rights safeguarded through an enabling environment, peoples participation, clear administrative responsibilities without political interference and making it answerable to the elected head of the district. At the same time it promises checks and balances to safeguard against abuse of authority. More specific objectives of changing the system have been given by NRB as follows, o Restructure the bureaucratic set up and de-centralize the administrative authority to the district level and below. o Re-orientate administrative systems to allow public participation in decision- making. o Facilitate monitoring of government functionaries by the monitoring committees of the local councils improving efficiency. o Introduce performance incentive systems to reward efficient officials. o Ensure functioning of the related offices in an integrated manner to achieve synergistic effect and improve service delivery. o Eliminate delays in decision-making and disposal of business through enhanced administrative and financial authority of district and tehsil level officers. o Improve administrative and financial management practices in the district and management controls over operational units. o Redress grievances of people against maladministration through the office of Zila Mohtasib. The government functionaries will also be eligible to lodge complaints against the unlawful and motivated orders of the elected officials. o Enable the proactive elements of society to participate in community work and development related activities. In accordance with the plan, elections for the new local government setup were held during December 2000 and September 2001. The Local Government Ordinance was promulgated in August 2001.
5

Features of the new Local Government System.

o Removal of the district administration system, one of the last holdouts of the colonial order and creation of three countrywide levels of Governments i.e. districts (Zila Councils headed by Zila Nazim), tehsils (taluqa in Sindh and town in City Governments, headed by Tehsil Nazim), and union councils (headed by Union Nazim). o Placing locally elected leaders in charge of out-posted bureaucrats o Reserving of one-third of seats for women and other marginalized Groups like peasants, workers etc. o Providing local councils with the right to obtain information on departmental operations and to sanction non-performance o Allowing properly registered citizen groups to gain direct access to a proportion of the local councils development budgets o Creating a municipal entity responsible for maintenance and development of basic municipal services such as water, sanitation, streets, lighting, parks, and business regulation. o Distribution of financial resources to local governments through formula based provincial fiscal transfers and decentralization of specified taxation powers to enable local governments to effect credible development and service delivery. o Creation of city governments in the provincial capitals with the possibility of allowing others to join later o The division as an administrative tier will cease to exist. o The institution of Citizen Community Boards has been created to enable the proactive elements of society to participate in community work and development related activities in both rural and urban areas.

 Basic Structure of The Setup

For an overview of the distribution of functions and basic structure of the set-up, please see the table and diagram below.

Responsibilities of Districts, Tehsil/Talukas & Union Councils

 Political structures & system

Local governments are formed at three levels: District, Tehsil, and Union. Each level comprises of its Nazim and Naib Nazim, its elected body (Zila Tehsil & Union Councils), and its administrative structures (District, Tehsil/Town Municipal and Union Administration). As of August 2002, the position is as under:

The elections at the Union level constitute the backbone of the entire Local Government political system and structure. It is the one and the only level where all elections are direct. The direct elections in a Union constitute not only the Union Council but also bring into being directly elected Zila and Tehsil Councils through the Union Nazims and Naib Union Nazims respectively. Councillors, Nazims and Naib Nazims from all the union councils of a District elect the District Nazim and Naib Nazim as joint candidates. Similarly this Electoral College will elect peasants (5%)/laborers, women (33%) and minority candidates. The life of these Councils is three years. The elections are to be held on non-party basis.

 Criteria for being a councilor

i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) Minimum age 25 Years Citizen residing in the relevant ward Good Muslim Character (except for non-Muslims) Not convicted Not employee of Federal, Provincial or Local Governments Minimum qualification Matriculation or Secondary School Certificate for Nazims and Naib Nazims.

It is generally believed that the elections were held in a free and fair manner. Some interesting observations need special mention before any issues are identified. 79% of the councilor, comparing all kinds of reserved and general seats had not contested an election before and had entered for the first time in local government politics. 64% of them did not have any family members who had previously participated in the election. However, data varies when separated for each type of contested seats. The number reduces as 57% for Nazim and 75% Naib Nazim who had not contested elections before. The multivariate analysis shows that 54%of candidates were those who themselves and their families had never contested in elections before. The majority of councilors belonged to the younger strata of society. Around 74% of them are less than 46 years of age. Another encouraging finding is that 79% of the councilors were literate while 10% of them were F.A and 16% of them were B.A and

above. Amongst the 21% of illiterate councilors, women constitute 69% of this category. Occupational background of the elected councilors also showed a thin distribution of the councilors into twelve different occupational categories. However, the majority of Nazims/Naib Nazims belong to influential families while most of the councilors belong to low-income groups. Due to the governments decision to hold the local government elections on a separate electorate basis, the majority of members of the minorities boycotted the elections leading to only 9% seats being contested for. The assessment of the level of understanding and knowledge of the Devolution of Power Plan reveals that the majority of voters as well as candidates did not know the basic features of the Plan17. In rural areas 68% and in urban areas 54% respondents of voters groups did not know how to cast their vote. In response to specific questions on the union council elections such as the number of seats in the union council, the category of seats, the number of ballot papers, the definition of peasants and workers and the mode of elections for tehsil and district Nazim/Naib Nazim, the maximum number of rural women who claimed awareness about either of the aspects was around 20% and that of rural men was 50%. While in urban areas, the maximum awareness for any aspect did not exceed 60%. Voters and candidates received information about the Devolution Power Plan and election procedures from multiple sources. Despite the high level of illiteracy, the main source of information for the candidates turned out to be Newspapers and TV for the voters. Around 35% voters did not have Identity Cards, while 12% respondents did not have their names in the electoral rolls. However, there were gender and regional variations in this regard. A large number of 18 year olds, who were allowed to cast their vote due to reduction in voting age from 21 to 18, were not able to exercise their right due to non-possession of Identity Cards. Inaccuracy of electoral rolls was the biggest problem on the Election Day.
10

Women have been given 33 % of seats on the local bodies. These elections, for the first time in Pakistans history, brought in 36,187 women councilors under the local government system. They are expected to make a significant impact on allocation of resources, design and implementation of social policies.

Administrative structures & systems

In accordance with the political structure of the local government, an administrative structure has been proposed at all three main levels of the government namely, District, Tehsil/Taluka and Union. The district administration is co-ordinated by a District Co-ordination Officers (DCO), and consists of up to twelve groups which are headed by the Executive District Officers (EDOs). District officers are in charge of sub-offices at the District Headquarter; While Deputy District Officers co-ordinate the work of the sub offices.

Administrative Structure at District Level

11

The Tehsil Nazim is the executive head of the Tehsil Government, while the Naib Tehsil Nazim acts as the convener of the Tehsil Council. Under theNazim there is a Tehsil Municipal Officer (TMO). There are four Tehsil Officers (TOs) reporting to the TMO (Tehsil municipal officer), for o Finance, Budget and account o Municipal Standards and co-ordination, o Land Use Control o Rural-Urban Planning. The Union Council has up to three secretaries o Secretary Union Committees o Secretary Municipal Functions o Secretary Community Development Who are under the executive control of the Union Nazim.

Graphical Explanation of The Administrative Structure of Local Government

12

13

14

Refrences
Devolution Plan in Pakistan: Context, Implementation and Issues By Saad Abdullah Paracha Wikipedia Oxford Dictionary

15