Devolution also means decentralisation

The Sindh government restored the commissionerate system in Sindh on Saturday by repealing the Local Government Order of 2001 and amending the Sindh Land Revenue Act of 1967. Acting Governor Nisar Khuhro issued three ordinances with immediate effect, amending the Sindh Land Revenue Act 1967, reviving Sindh Local Government Ordinance 1979 and Police Act 1861. Sindh is the last province to do so.
The other three have already done. Muttahida Qaumi Movement's decision to exit coalition government opened the door for PPP to do so. After this decision though there is little chance of the MQM walking back in through the reconciliation door. The party successfully presided over the last city government in Karachi, and has consistently been pushing the Sindh government to hold local bodies elections. A related issue is that while instituting local governments in Sindh the Musharraf government had reorganised some electoral constituencies, which the PPP felt favoured the MQM. That is now expected to be reversed.
The promulgation of these Ordinances was highly anticipated as a decision to do so was undertaken at a meeting chaired by the President on Friday. Briefing journalists, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said that "if the commissionerate system is restored in Karachi, it will again have five separate districts." Little surprise then that the MQM Rabita Committee has strongly rejected the government decision saying the party "will definitely oppose it when a bill is tabled in the provincial assembly for debate." There is not much it can do to change things at this point in time considering that the PPP has enough numbers to pass the bill.
Although the other provincial governments have already reverted to the old commissionerate system, they remain committed to the idea on principle, promising to reintroduce it in a reformed shape. Presidential spokesman also seemed to be adhering to the same position as he observed that the PPP agreed with the MQM on the implementation of the LG system but needed sometime to prepare for implementation. Devolution of power at the grass-roots level is a much-desired goal. The now defunct local governments brought the people a significant measure of financial and administrative autonomy, allowing those living in the far-flung underdeveloped areas to improve their conditions.
Elected governments in the provinces rejected the previous local bodies declaring them flawed and impractical primarily because they saw the third tier of government as an infringement on their authority as it affected constituency politics; and also because LGs restrict their control over administrative affairs. An added offence, in their eyes, was the attempt by General Musharraf to use the Nazims as a political force in the support of his rule. Hence the urge to restore the powerful commissionerates.
The commissionerate system had almost become moribund and unresponsive. It was characterised by an absence of force and forcefulness. But its opposition by all major political parties has more to do with electoral politics. They have favoured local bodies elections on a non-party basis as they themselves profoundly lack the required organisation capacity at grass-roots levels. Elections on party basis badly affect their ability to efficiently award tickets to candidates because of a variety of reasons. All the military rulers - Ayub, Zia and Musharraf - unfortunately used local bodies with a view to earning electoral legitimacy. Therefore, political forces, by and large, are in blanket opposition. The MQM, however, is an exception as it is very-well organised political outfit at grass-root level within the urban Sindh.
Local bodies system envisaged under Musharraf was not just devolution but also decentralisation. Some of the responsibilities assigned to provincial headquarters were also assigned to local governments. The three-tier governmental system envisages implementation of the will of the people through elected assemblies/councils. They collectively control collection of revenue and enjoy much greater autonomy over budget making and expenditures. The role of bureaucracy under them is to strictly and efficiently carry out the functions assigned as per law and rules provided therein, subject to oversight of elected representatives with accountability to them. Experience shows that certain governmental responsibilities such as education, health, sanitation and connectivity within communities are more efficiently undertaken at the local council level. People are more responsive to tax rates when decisions are taken only in their own neighbourhoods.
Undoubtedly, commissionerate system was on the verge of becoming obsolete. Under that system, the empowerment of field officers, with the passage of time, became synonymous with inefficiency mainly because of cosmetic empowerment while centralisation at the level of provincial headquarters became the norm, it seemed. Certain regulatory functions are seen to be more effective at provincial level. These include labour, agriculture, tourism and culture. After the passage of the 18th Amendment, empowerment (autonomy) to provinces has been greatly ensured. The devolution of functions spelled out in the 18th Amendment may take some time to see the light of day. However, it will be a reality. Provinces need to be assured that the centre will be least intrusive in functions assigned to provinces. The idea that government should be based solely on strong central institutions is old-fashioned and out-of-date. In a federal system, the power to deal with an issue at a level as low as possible, and only as high as necessary. In a federal system, power is dispersed but co-ordinated. And, provincial authorities, in turn, now also need to decentralise those civic functions which are best performed at the local level. The concept of a three-tier government needs to be expanded. Elected bodies having permanent functionaries for implementation at all three tiers needs to be in place with division of responsibility and full autonomy.
Admittedly, however, the LG system did not work as well in smaller cities and the rural areas as it did in metropolitan centres such as Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Several reasons account for this lack of success, most notably the fact that the Police Order, 2002, was never fully implemented. The law had called for the setting up of citizen-police liaison committees so as to make the police more responsive to the public needs. It was put into practice in some cities, but only half-heartedly. Little changed in the rural areas where the police are known to promote the interests of local influentials at the expense of small farmers and landless peasants. It was the district management - civil servants - who traditionally and successfully acted against an often detrimental influence or power of the landlord and police as a countervailing force. In due course, the system would have come into its own, overcoming various problems.
The Citizen Police Liaison Committees need to be supplemented with Public Safety Commissions to address complaints against police. Another weakness pointed out was the fall in revenue collection. This argument is premised on facts not in evidence.
The system's capacity at all three tiers is weak. FBR with all its faults is still a more effective revenue collector than the provincial revenue boards. Similarly, local bodies entrusted with certain responsibilities need to be entrusted with responsibility to raise taxes. After all, motor vehicle tax was a local government levy before it was taken away from the provincial authorities as they lost out sales tax on services to the centre. It is hoped the Sindh government and the other provinces realise that discarding the local government system due to certain flaws, amounts to throwing the baby with the bathwater. The system needs to be brought back in an amended form with its weaknesses addressed. We earnestly hope and desire that the performance of this system will not suggest the effort of a moribund murderer with a skinny groping hand deformed by gouty swellings summoning all his remaining strength for a last stab.
President Zardari will be remembered for voluntarily giving up his powers and transferring them to the Parliament and, for political reconciliation paving the way for the passage for the 18th Amendment. Let him be the first democratically-elected leader of the nation to bring back the local bodies with full empowerment to effectively reflect aspiration of the people.