Instead of empowering the local bodies or making them more powerful than what used to be the case under Pervez Musharraf, the local government system adopted recently by the Punjab assembly is a shadow of its former self.
No wonder the politicians from opposition say the new local bodies to be launched after the upcoming polls will be good for nothing with councillors or nazims having a very little say in managing the affairs at the grassroots.
An important feature of the new law is the education and health authorities that are to be created under the recently adopted local government system. These authorities will run the education and health facilities on the local or grass-root levels. Ironically, the new local leadership will have no role in these authorities and likewise no role managing education and health under their purview.
According to these laws, no member of the local councils will be member of these authorities. All its members will be nominated by the government.
A reading of the new law shows some other dramatic departures from the past that would ultimately deprive the local leadership of having a say in running their affairs.
Under the previous local government system introduced in 2001, there was a provincial finance commission. The finance and Local government ministers were its members. From bureaucracy, administrative finance and local government secretaries were its integral part. Apart from these officials from the provincial governments, representative of each tier of local governments, district, town and UC were the members of the commission. These local leaders were part of every meeting of the commission. This commission used to meet at least once in a month to examine the funds releases to various local governments and make budgetary allocations through one-line transfers reflected in the provincial budgets also. In these budgetary allocations these representatives of the local bodies had full say. In the new system now the composition of this commission has been changed dramatically. Now there will be five MPAs onboard along with two officials to be nominated by the provincial government with no representation from local bodies at all. These MPAs and officials will no doubt take their cues from the provincial government and district government formed by a party from opposition could be screwed anytime.
Another important change that raised many eyebrows among the opposition parties is the new provisions for delimitations. Normally, delimitations take place before elections. But under the new laws, delimitations of constituencies could be done anytime, even after the elections. This provision could tip the power equation in favour of the government anytime in the limits of any council or UC.
Similarly, in the past practices if a nazim of a council is suspended, naib nazim used to get the acting charge. In case of his absence, the House used to nominate a member in place of nazim, but from the House. Not any more as the local government commission or the government could nominate anybody, even an outsider as a nazim. More importantly, head of council could be removed by the chief minister on the basis of a mere inquiry.
Political analysts say that new law has been framed with a view to give full control of local bodies to the provincial government. More important, it is an attempt to pre-empt opposition from creating any problem for the ruling party in case it is empowered at the local level in various districts and towns after the elections.
