Efficacy in review: Outgoing local govts a mixed bag for K-P

While some former members hail the local govt system as ‘perfect’, others say it failed to live up to its promise

PESHAWAR: With the constitutional term of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s local government representatives now over, the past four years seem to have been a mixed bag in terms of service delivery.

The Express Tribune spoke to some individuals who worked as part of the province’s local government apparatus to review its overall efficacy now that it can be looked in entirety.

Peshawar’s former deputy nazim Qasim Ali Shah was all praise for the local government system introduced in the province by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Although local government elections did take place before when PTI came to power in K-P, the fresh system PTI introduced through the K-P Local Government Act 2013 was in Qasim’s eyes the perfect solution to meeting citizens need on an immediate and efficient basis.



“I believe the local government system we just had perfectly enabled residents to get their issues resolved at the grassroots level,” he said. “Local government representatives tried their level best to minimise problems being faced by the residents of their respective constituencies,” he insisted.

Qasim pointed to Peshawar itself as the prime example of the local government system fulfilling its promise. “What you see [development in Peshawar] is the outcome of one of the most perfect legislations and one of the most perfect local governments,” he said. “Since local government representatives were empowered, they could effectively point out what facilities, such as schools, hospitals and roads, were missing in which localities.”

“Now, in K-P, you can name it and we have it. We have Category D hospitals, rural health centres and X-ray and laboratory facilities in rural areas. All these things, you could not even imagine in the past,” he added.

Many others, however, said the tussle over power-sharing between local government representatives and members of the provincial and federal legislatures hurt the system’s service delivery.

“I know that the local government system introduced in 2013 was one of the perfect systems, but the bureaucracy highly hampered its efficacy and this is why it could not be implemented in full spirit and deliver as was expected,” a senior PTI member said.

The PTI member, who requested anonymity, added that everything was in the know of the provincial and central leadership. “If you do not share power with members of the provincial and national assemblies, even the amended Act will not be able to meet its objectives,” he stressed.

He also stated that some PTI local government representatives expressed reservations on the interference of the provincial and national assembly members but they too had to step back since they could not confront the party leadership.

K-P Minister for Local Governments Shahram Khan Tarakai, however, claimed that although the PTI government introduced “one of the most perfect legislations”, the passage of time revealed the need for improvement.



“Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted more powers devolved to the local government representatives. This is the reason the Act was amended,” he said. “The amendments to the existing local bodies have been adopted and the amendment bill has been approved by the K-P Assembly,” the minister added.

Fresh local government elections are now supposed to be held within 120 days. The provincial government, meanwhile, has already ordered the withdrawal of vehicles and office equipment provided to the outgoing local government representatives. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2019.