Stakeholders at a consultative session have strongly criticised the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government for not taking a single stakeholder on board before presenting the 'Punjab Local Government Act 2019' in the Punjab Assembly. Recently, the incumbent government had presented the 'Punjab Local Government Act 2019' in the Punjab Assembly that seems very different from the past promises. This time again, not a single stakeholder was taken on board before presenting the new draft of the local government act, observe civil society organizations at the consultation held here on Sunday.
The participants who took part in the consultation were CSOs, the media, local government elected representatives and the academia. These include Zahid Islam, LG Expert-CSOs, Mohammad Tahseen, ED, SAP-PK, Bushra Khaliq, ED, WISE, Sajid Ali, Director Programs, SDF, Salman Abid, Political Analyst, Col Tahir Kardar, Chairman, Model, Amjad Magsi, Professor, PU, Kanwal Liaqat, MPA, PMLN and Sadia Sohail, MPA, PTI.
Sharing about the main features of the newly-drafted local government acts, LG Expert - CSOs Zahid Islam expressed that the government addressed the local government subject through two separate acts titles (i) Punjab Local Government Act 2019, and (ii) Punjab Panchayat And Neighborhood Council Act 2019, which is contradictory in its description in many articles. "Both acts were poorly drafted. The word 'He' was used everywhere in the acts which discourage other gender," he observed.
He said the Metropolitan Corporation, Municipal Corporation, Municipal Committees and Town Committees were introduced in urban areas while Village Councils and Tehsil Councils shall be established under rural LG system. The Neighbourhood Council was introduced but it has no link with urban local governments, both legally and administratively.
According to Zahid, all the divisions of Punjab act as Metropolitan Corporation except Sargodha Division. There is no concept of District Council or district government like previous LG models. The Council shall be headed by head of the council, convenes by the convener, and run by its own cabinet consists of councilors and professionals.
The minimum age to participate in the election is 25 and the qualification is masters for Metropolitan Corporation, and graduation for rest LGIs. Local Boards shall be established for the monitoring of council and it will have the suspension and dismissal authority of the said councils anytime. The local government's finance commission is similar to the previous one. Overall, it seems powers are centralized rather than decentralization which is not democratic way, he added.
Talking about the gaps, civil society member Asma Aamir said the current government came into power with the majority vote of young people. "But this very sadden for me, that there is no reserved seat for the youth in "PLGA 2019". She asked where young people stand in the field of politics?
"The local government system is considered a primary institution or nursery of the leadership; therefore, the government should give more opportunities to the youth to come forward in politics rather than excluded them. The abolition of 33 percent quota for women on reserved seats and their limited representation in the new LG system is equally upsetting as well. It shall decrease the political participation of women in future," she added.
Director Programmes SDF Sajid Ali said: "I feel there was no need to mention the local government elections in the "PLGA 2019" when the Election Act 2017 was already in place and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was responsible to conduct it across the country.
Salman Abid expressed that the word "local government" was used in the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 and the essence of this word was missing in "PLGA 2019" which is not only a violation but serious concern too.
PML-N MPA Kanwal Liaqat said the PLGA 2019 was shared with the opposition after tabling in the provincial assembly's standing committee which discussed it in three days - first time in 8 months. "We had forwarded a few recommendations to the government but they were not ready to accept them," Liaqat alleged. "It seems this bill will be passed very soon without the consultation of any stakeholder." On this, PTI MPA Sadia Sohail said she was also in favor that the PLGA 2019 should be discussed with all the stakeholders before passing it in the assembly.