Karachi: Transparency International Pakistan organized a seminar on “Empowering Local Governments for Enhanced Service Delivery and Public Participation” at PC Hotel Karachi.
The event disseminated the findings of TI Pakistan report Sindh Local Government District Performance Assessment 2024 and aimed to foster discussion among political parties, government representatives, elected local government representatives, civil society and academia on the need for enhancing powers, functions
and performance of the local government in Sindh province, ensuring that local governments are able to fulfill their mandate as envisioned in Sindh Local Government Act (Amendment) 2023.
Mr. Kashif Ali, Executive Director TI Pakistan highlighted that Sindh Local Government District Performance Assessment 2024 reveals that there are significant gaps in the local government service delivery with many citizens pointing out that public meetings at UC/Tehsil/District level are not organized by LG representatives. He further highlighted that the assessment also reveals gaps in terms of quality of basic services (water supply,
sanitation, sewage/drainage, roads maintenance, waste management, infrastructural development and registration documents), provided by the LG as per its mandate.
At the same time, there is a need to enhance awareness among the citizens about the functions, roles and responsibilities of local government so citizens are aware about the scope of local government work.
He highlighted that citizen inclusion in local government decision making, disclosure of local government budgets, performance reports and audits as well as having effective complaint redress mechanism in all UCs and district local government offices is needed to ensure effective service delivery at grassroot level.
Speakers comprising of Dr. Farooq Sattar, MNA and Deputy Convenor MQM-P, Advocate Saifuddin, opposition Leader KMC and Naib Amir Jamaat-i-Islami Karachi, Mr. Muhammad Owais MPA Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Dr. Ghazal Khuwaja Humayyun Associate Professor Public Administration at the Karachi University and Mr. Qasim Soomro MPA PPP and Parliamentary Secretary, Mr. Shahid Jatoi, Commissioner, Sindh Information Commission, who proposed different recommendations for improving local governance in the province.
Dr Farooq Sattar stated that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan mandates the government to empower local governance structures and suggested that there should be a share of district within the national budget. Local empowerment is the only way to restore public trust in institutions. Advocate Saifuddin
highlighted that there is an overlap in the functioning of different departments due to which elected local government takes back seat and the basic issues of citizens such as water, sewerage and cleanliness remain unaddressed.
He underscored the need for decentralization of powers and resources with clearly defined mandate for local governments in Article 140 against which they can be hold accountable for their performance.
Mr. Muhammad Owais stated that there is an ambiguous distribution of authority among different tiers of the government. While Dr. Ghazal Khwaja highlighted that the institutions are in place at the local level, there is need to empower these institutions with powers and authority to ensure service delivery at the local level.
Mr. Qasim Soomro emphasized that decentralization has not been materialized in the letter and spirit, and local governments cannot deliver without decentralization of resources.
He highlighted that local governments are third tier of governance and without empowering them, Pakistan cannot achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Justice (R) Zia Perwez, Chairman TI Pakistan and Justice (R) M. Ather Saeed, board of Trustee TI Pakistan emphasized that local governance is the cornerstone of effective democratic systems, as it directly impacts the lives of citizens by providing essential services and responding to their needs. Strong local governments can ensure that communities are empowered, resources are managed efficiently, and accountability is maintained.
By promoting citizen participation and transparency, local governance can create more inclusive and responsive model of governance in the province.
