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ISLAMABAD: The basic hurdles in social inclusivity are poverty, inequalities, gender inequality, lack of services provided to the citizens, lack of political education and patriarchy; and a strong local government system should be the top priority of the government for the betterment of citizens in terms of service delivery.

This was the crux of a session on Local Government and Challenges of Social Inclusiveness, organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here on Tuesday.

Panellists included Senator Aon Abbas Bappi, Ahmed Iqbal, Chairman, District Council Narowal, Prof Dr Ghazal Mir Zulfiqar from LUMS, Uzma Qureshi from The World Bank.

The panellists said that the basic hurdles in social inclusivity are poverty, inequalities, gender inequality, lack of services provided to the citizens, lack of political education, patriarchy, etc.

Stressing the need to build upon an appropriate local government system, they said that Section 76e of the LG system is not being fully implemented, which highlights how to fulfil the needs of people.

They said a strong local government system should be the top priority of the government for the betterment of citizens in terms of service delivery.

Speakers at a session on “Building Minimum Consensus on the Architecture of Local Government System in Pakistan” in collaboration with GIZ, called for minimum consensus on structure, nomenclature and functions of local governments system across all four provinces. There is a need for grand national dialogue among political parties to further explain the system of LGs in the constitution. This could be done through inclusion of an additional chapter in the Constitution, they added.

Dr Nafisa Shah, PPP MNA, said despite having a very clear mandate for the purpose the current government cannot ensure the continuation of the local government system and emphasised a strong leadership at the Centre is needed, which recognises the fact that “bad governance starts from the street”.

Inayatullah, MPA and former Minister Local Government and Finance KPK was of the view that continuity of local government is important. There shall be a minimum consensus on the functions of the local government systems, he emphasised.

Rainer Rohdewohld, senior policy advisor Asian Development Bank, said fiscal, political, and authoritative decentralisation is important for a successful local bodies system.

Prof Amir Taj, Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, said the role of federal and provincial governments in structuring local government reforms is crucial and so is the judiciary.

Amina Zaidi from the SDPI, opined there is a political reluctance in strengthening the local government.

Mohsin Chandana, federal secretary Inter-Provincial Coordination, pointed out that our failure to shed the centralised system we inherited from our colonisers is the main cause of the rotten LG system in Pakistan.

Speaking at a session on “Progress and Reforms in Social Protection in Pakistan: Post-18th Amendment”, the speakers said that by improving the social protection system in the country, we need to develop more social assistance.

PSPA CEO Beenish Fatima Sahi stressed the need for unified M&E for the purpose of implementation. This is very important to do economic inclusion for human development. There are number of institutions that required Rs72 billion to run these strategies for social protection.

She also emphasised to lower the set of strata to circulate social protection budget.

Shahid Farooq said it’s not only the responsibility of social protection departments, but also a collaborative effort is required. There is a disconnect among departments and it occurs both in districts and at provincial levels.

Haris Gazdar said political priorities need to be revised. Financial and social inclusion needs distribution at provisional and local levels. Relationship between state and citizens should be part of the agenda.

Muhammad Waqas said our system is also facing challenges and every province has different set of strategies for social protection. This new concept needs to incorporate accordingly in a unified way.

Dr Fareeha Armughan from the SDPI said currently social protection is more of a provincial subject and provinces need to take ownership of this programme.

Speaking at the session on “Consensus on the Architecture of Local Government System in Pakistan” organised by the SDPI in collaboration with GIZ LoGo, Dr Nafisa Shah, PPP MNA, Inayat Ullah, MPA KPK, Rainer Rohdewohid, Senior Adviser GIZ, Mohsin Mushtaq Chandna, Federal Secretary for Inter-Provincial Coordination, and others called for minimum consensus on structure, nomenclature and functions of local governments system across all four provinces.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021

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