There are two major ingredients that are the backbone of good administration. First is monitoring. What does it imply? It is a system devised to check the working mechanism to ascertain quality and output in a given system. In short, it is a spot check to get a feed back of how the system is working.
Unfortunately in our country if we glance at the spectrum of administration there is no check on the mechanism. The working schedule is drawn up by the planners and floated in the form of schemes with no checks and balances. In a society where corruption is at its peak, those who are responsible to implement it, circumvent the system and modify it to suit their ends. This discretionary power by those in authority tends to derail the objectives for which the scheme is launched.
Let us take the existing LG system at the district level. The district Nazim is the king-pin of administration, who is an elected representative, yet he is more concerned about his political future in the area of the vote bank in his jurisdiction. He is bound to appease his electorate/constituency. A very peculiar system of governance has emerged as a result thereof. Some nazims function without a normal office.
As a result, the centuries old system at the district level, run by the Deputy Commissioner, has been put on the back burner and some nazims now believe in running the administration through open kutcheries on a daily basis. These mobile offices come into function at the will of the Nazim who decide where and when in the week he will hold a kuthchery. People throng to the area with applications in their hands.
The Nazim issues on the spot orders on the application. In some cases he takes important staff from the revenue - health - education etc and issues on the spot orders. People are satisfied with this quick response and this happens day in and day out. When he is in the district, a similar situation prevails and the difference is that the subordinate officers are - "On Call" of the Nazim in their offices.
The above system, no matter how efficient it be, negated the basic ingredients of the administration. First, it lacks proper office procedure, where there is no recording of documents. Secondly, the events cannot be traced if and when needed. An application is put to the Nazim - he scribbles his orders on it and the bearer takes it to the concerned officer. What is the final disposal of that application only the applicant knows.
As a result of this system, the sub-divisions like Revenue, Health, Education, Public Works, Accounts are plagued with corruption. In all fairness, there should be laid down procedures for official work that had been in place from the time of the British, where the Deputy Commissioner ran the district administration.
We need a strong monitoring system to be entrenched at the district administration level that should give its feedback to the provincial government or any inspection team.
The government has placed in great responsibilities on the shoulders of a District Nazim. He has huge funds at his disposal which need to be regularly monitored. Well placed monitoring codes to check discretionary powers of the nazims will reduce corruption. Right now, the provincial government has no monitoring system placed at the district level. The monitoring cell exists in the provincial secretariat where it acts like a post office. Complaints are sent to the district for comments and these are passed on to the complainant without any action.
Where is the administration? The masses are on the receiving end and they run from pillar to post to get their grievances resolved. To highlight my point, the revenue staff/department at Attock is playing with the properties of the masses. Imagine a Tehsildar allotting 22 kanals of land on GT Road to one brother who had dollars in his pocket to dish out as cookies.
In this case the total land on GT Road was 52 kanals and there were five brothers and three sisters. Each brother should have got 8 kanals and the sister 4 kanals. To what extent can our officials in the revenue department exercise Zulm on the poor masses is evident from this simple calculation.
Next on the list is accountability. Those who have the decision-making power are not made accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, at no level of governance accountability exists in our country. No officer of any standing has been caught in the accountability net - prosecuted and punished. The accountability law is a laugh.
The end result is a persistent deterioration in the standards of governance at all levels. In a society which is plagued with corruption - who can be your catch? If you dare catch one - there is a line of recommendations from the civil or military sources. Our blood has become corruption positive and transfusion of blood is needed to maintain life in the body. I quote a line from a poem that I have written:
"Those that matter pay no heed to the poor. The poor are in shambles in the land of gamble."
When we look at our neighbours like Bangladesh, India we ought to learn a lesson. There people are made accountable for their acts. You read an Indian minister resigning if there is a train accident. Here, we had a chief minister in Sindh who would not leave his chair till thrown out disgracefully. There lies the difference. We need to install an accountability mechanism at the district level by:-
• Regular inspections to be conducted by the provincial governments in the working and performance of district administration like revenue, education, health, public works, accounts etc with the objective of finding faults and recommending remedial measures. Keeping a track of these objections and seeking progress reports.
• Establishing liaison between the masses at the district and the provincial HQs and getting a feed back of the problems faced by the masses. Working on such problems through the district and seeking progress in the matter. The MPA in the district be given powers to redress public grievances not handled at the district level to the satisfaction of the individual. In foreign countries like Canada the MPA acts as a link between the county government and the province. People seek MPA's assistance in matters not resolved at the county level.
• Any VIP visiting the district should meet the masses - listen to their grievances and instruct the concerned department to take action. This will supplement the action of the MPA as well. The idea is to give relief. We have to change our outlook if we want the welfare of the masses. Our leadership should get close to the masses - feel their pulse and give them relief. In that lies our salvation and stability.
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