Devolution challenge

Just days after taking oath as Prime Minister — on September 3, 2018 to be exact — Imran Khan had constituted a committee to propose, within a week, a new local government system to be presented before the provincial assemblies to initiate the required legislation process. The directives had come during a meeting at the PM Office attended by the chief ministers of three of the four provinces as well as federal and provincial ministers and secretaries. And three weeks from then — on September 24, 2018 — the Prime Minister issued a kind of ultimatum demanding an effective local government system to be finalised within 48 hours. The order this time was handed down during a meeting of the Punjab cabinet.

The PM’s directives may not have been complied with ‘within a week’ or ‘within 48 hours’, but the good news is that the draft of a new local government system is now all set to be presented before the Punjab Assembly in its coming session. A confirmation to this effect has come from none other than Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. On approval from the 371-strong Assembly, the new law will be enforced in Punjab, to be followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These are the provinces where the PTI is in power. Sindh, where the PPP calls the shots, and Balochistan, where a BAP-led coalition is in power, would be asked to enforce the new local government system under Article 140-A of the Constitution.

People’s empowerment through devolution of power at the grassroots level has been the main aspect of the PTI’s agenda of reforms. While the draft law on the new local government system is sure to get the seal of approval from the Punjab Assembly, given the PTI’s strength in the House, what matters the most is its practical implementation to ensure that local representatives have a meaningful say in the affairs of the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 15^th, 2019.

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