Making a case for strong local governments

Of the several factors to which PTI’s electoral success could be attributed to, the party’s commitment to reforming local government’s system of governance is possibly the strongest. And with good reason: when it comes to Imran Khan, transferring power to grass root level has not simply been a political slogan. The PM ensured that the party delivers on its promise during its first stint in power in KP.

And yet, when it comes to basic indicators of social service delivery, Shahbaz Sharif’s model of central planning seems to have better delivered in areas ranging from education, basic healthcare to, no surprises – road infrastructure. So, is local government empowerment just good optics for PTI? Not necessarily.

First, tertiary governments allow for public accountability that is entirely missing when district and tehsil level government is managed by civil servants.

Second, while municipal corporations and village councils may be less efficient than powerful bureaucracies at service delivery, tertiary government models have not been allowed enough time to develop their own mature institutions.

Third, historically, whenever social service delivery is dominated by provincial government, political considerations leave their footprint.

District government’s fund entitlement is instead treated as a grant from provincial viceroy, allowing the government in power to reallocate funds from the provincial divisible tool based on political bent.
The problem and its solution, thus, do not lie in reversing devolution.
Under Article 140A of the constitution, provincial governments are responsible to create financially viable local system of governance.

This goal cannot be achieved if urban centres such as Karachi or rural areas of Rajanpur are equally dependent grants and handouts from the capital.

While announcing stimulus in the shape of “Karachi package” may provide a good impetus to kickstart stalled development, local governments will become only sustainable once they become fiscally independent.

For one, provincial viceroys need to be jolted and realize that the increase in provincial entitlement in the last NFC award was contingent upon an implicit assumption that as provinces require greater share as funds will be devolved to local governments. Second, resources mobilized at district levels are in any case their own entitlement. District governments are entitled to funds collected under property taxes just as much they are to municipal taxes.

While merits of direct election of mayors as proposed by the new federal government are debatable, it must be realized that the proposal will only bring an administrative change so long as district governments remain fiscally toothless. While one hopes that direct election shall eventually bring forward strong representatives of local population who shall fight the case of local governments, hope for grassroot governance might die by that time, if the system fails to deliver.

PTI has taken a step in the right direction by making local governments its first order of business. But the government needs to go a step further by ensuring model’s fiscal independence too.