ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians on Wednesday highlighted the importance of local government system, saying that it was unfortunate that the system was not being strengthened, particularly in Punjab where elections have not been held at the grassroot level since 2021.
They were speaking at a session titled, ‘Local Government System in Pakistan: From Challenges to Resilience’ under the Sustainable Development Conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Wednesday.
MNA Nafisa Shah, the convener of the Parliamentary Forum on Energy and Economy, said the true governance was at the grassroot level, and for that we have to go to the doorstep of the people whether we occupy the position of prime minister.
She said after 18th Amendment, Article 140-A had been strengthened and now local governments had become a provincial subject, adding that there were challenges but even then, governance should be devolved.
Ms Shah said out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) goals, most of them concerned local government system, including clean water and sustainable cities.
“If we did not have local government system in place in Sindh, we would not have been able to reach the flood-affected people in 2022,” the MNA said, adding that until political parties did not reach a consensus on local government, we could not move forward.
She said there were three-tier of governance, two of which were functioning properly but not the local government.
All subjects under the ground should be with the local government, including sanitation and clean water supply, Ms Shah said, expressing her concern over the non-holding of local bodies elections in Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory.
The MNA said elections should be held within 90 days under the Constitution and the local governments should have financial autonomy.
MNA Riaz Fatyana said there were three pillars in Article 140-A but not one pillar was visible, adding that the last time, local government elections were held under party system were back in 2015.
He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had been negligent of its duty to hold local government polls within the timeframe.
He suggested that an amendment should be made to fix a date for holding elections on the pattern of the US where polls were held on Nov 5 after every four years.
He also deplored the fact that there was a leadership crisis due to ban on student unions and non-holding of local government elections, saying that local government elections were not being held in half of the country.
He said 95 per cent of the roads in Pakistan did not have trees which was the responsibility of the local government.
Mr Fatyana said Articles 140A and 32 should be implemented, demanding that the ECP fulfill its responsibility and conduct local government elections.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Jawed Hanif Khan and National Assembly Standing Committee of Commerce chairman said efforts were being made for the last 70 years to hold local government polls, but the relevant authorities had failed to do so.
The local government system is not being strengthened because they are not being provided sufficient funds, he said.
Mr Khan said people knew about their rights but they were being deprived of them, adding that these rights could be provided through the local government system.
“We have suggested amendments in the local government law to enable the local governments to collect taxes within their jurisdictions,” he said, proposing that the local government should be provided funds under National Finance Commission (NFC).
He said there was no better system than governance at the grassroot level, adding that every village should have their own power grid powered by solar system so that they are not dependent of national grid.
He further said the local government representatives could work efficiently in sectors of agriculture and water resources.
Jamaat-i-Islami Deputy General Secretary Farasat Ali Shah said no one could deny the importance of local governments.
“We can learn from our neighbouring country India where the panchayat system is still in vogue,” he said, adding that local government system was also functioning properly in Bangladesh.
He said he failed to understand why this system was trampled, questioning the reason behind not providing funds to local governments.
“This system is being run through the federal and provincial governments when in fact it should function independently,” he said, adding that the system should not be discontinued at the whim of someone.
He said allocation of funds for the strengthening of local government system was necessary.
Mr Shah said work should be done on solar energy and Balochistan could be the best choice for promoting solar energy, on the pattern of Quaid-i-Azam solar.
In his welcome remarks, SDPI Executive Director Abid Qaiyum Suleri said if we talk about SDGs, the federal government should support local governments in matters of environment, economy and other sectors.
He said besides provincial governments, the local governments could also be activated for resilience, as in some matters, the federal government would need their support.
Talking about climate change, Dr Suleri said carbon emission targets could be different from Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan as the southwestern province’s contribution to carbon emission was very low.
