Devolution in Pakistan

21
DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS OF PAKISTAN’S CIVIL BUREAUCRACY (A STORY OF 10-YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH NEW POLICY AND PLAN) Muhammad Ishaque MEP11127 Country: Pakistan One year’s Masters in Public Policy Student at GRIPS, Tokyo / Civil Services officer in Pakistan

description

Presentation on history of devolution in Pakistan

Transcript of Devolution in Pakistan

  • DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS OF PAKISTANS CIVIL BUREAUCRACY (A STORY OF 10-YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH NEW POLICY AND PLAN) Muhammad IshaqueMEP11127Country: Pakistan One years Masters in Public Policy Student at GRIPS, Tokyo / Civil Services officer in Pakistan

  • Outline*Public Management Overview of PakistanDecentralization based on New Public Management ideaDecentralization plan: salient featuresRevised set-up after DecentralizationStakeholders involvedPlan formulation and implementation processHow did the change work?Reason for failure

  • Public Management Overview of Pakistan:*Federal state structure with Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhuwa as Provinces (Federating Units), Islamabad & Federally administered tribal areas

    Provinces divided administratively into Divisions, each Division comprised of 5-6 DistrictsTotal 27 Divisions in four provinces

  • Overview (Contd)Pre-devolution set up at provincial administration levelB) Division/District LevelA) Provincial Headquarter*

  • Overview (Contd)*Civil Bureaucrats as Administrative Head of Ministry/Agency/Provinces

    Divisional Commissioner supervising the whole Division, answerable to Chief Secretary of the Province

    Deputy Commissioner as the administrative head of District level, answerable to Divisional CommissionerStrong administrative authority at District and Divisional level in the provincesControl of police and judicial powersPowers of revenue collection and land administrationManagement of development fund allocated to parliamentarians

  • Overview (Contd.)*Issues that led to reform thinkingBritains Colonial administration systemLow accountability of bureaucrats to public and for actionsNo grass-root level representation in policy and decision-making processNon-existence of Local Government as third governmental tierCentralized mechanism of public services provision and policy-making

  • Decentralization based on New Public Management idea

  • Decentralization Plan: salient features*Military government of Gen Musharraf initiated Decentralization reforms in 2000Creation of third tier of government i.e. local government with council, budget, etc. with Nazim as Head of governmentAbolished the positions of Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner replacement with District Coordination Officer (DCO) at District levelSeparation of Police and judicial powers from District Administration

  • Decentralization Plan: salient featuresEssential basic services devolved from provincial governments to Local Govts Health, Education, Agriculture, Revenue, etc.DCO and other district level officers accountable to Nazim and District Assembly, as well as to Chief Secretary Qualification for candidacy of Nazim just 10 years schoolingDistrict Assembly to receive budget grants from Provincial government and allocate

    *

  • Revised set-up after Decentralization (Contd.)*A) Structure of StateB) Structure of District Govt

  • Stakeholders involved*

    Institution Roles and responsibilitiesChief Executive/Prime Minister(Gen Musharraf)Vision, approval of the composition and tasks for Provincial Transition TeamsNational Reconstruction Bureau (NRB)Design and formulation of plan and responsible to ensure implementationProvincial GovernmentsCoordination and providing support to NRB and implementation of structure through Provincial Transition Teams in each provincePakistan ArmyMonitoring of the whole plan formulation and implementation processMembership in each Provincial Transition Team

  • Stakeholders (Contd.)*Leaders VisionTo empower people and hold public offices accountable to public and ensure service delivery at the doorstep of people General Musharraf 2000

    Came in Power in 1999 and left in 2008 after the defeat of his favorite political party in general election

  • Stakeholders (Contd.)Composition and Role of NRBChaired by an Army GeneralHired consultants at national levelDesign of devolution plan and implementation Provide Support to federal and provincial governments in implementation of decentralization or devolution reformsinteract with the Government organizations for institutionalizing capacity building of local governments at all levelsPropose reconstruction of civil services *

  • Stakeholders (Contd.)Composition and Roles of Provincial Transition Teamsa) CompositionExecutive arm of the Governor of the Province Minister for Local GovernmentAdditional Chief SecretarySecretary, Local GovernmentBrigadier from the Armyb) RolesEnsure gradual decentralization; formation of District Transition Teams for support at District level

    *

  • Plan formulation and implementation process*Given the vision of Gen Musharraf, NRBs consultation with Provincial Governors and Chief SecretariesDrafting of plan by the consultantsPresented to the Chief Executive (C.E) through Prime Minister Secretariat and approval of C.E and Local Government Ordinance, 2000 issued

    VisionPlan DraftingConsultationApproval of C.EImplementation by Governors

  • Plan formulation and implementation process (Contd)Bureaucracy resisted, but strong commitment of Prime Minister made it possibleProvincial Transition Teams created Transition Teams at District Level under the Chairmanship of DCOTransition teams worked for transfer of assets, employees from Divisional to District GovtsWeekly meetings of Transition team to review the progress of implementationComplete implementation of revised structure in 2001*

  • How did the change work?Services decentralizedRepresentation of people in decision-making through District CouncilHowever, morale of bureaucracy was loweredlaw and order situation aggravatedLocal government to depend on provincial government for budget and administrative issuesCivil services at District level not formedSystem failed and could not deliver*

  • Reasons for failureDesign of system for safeguard of personal interestNo involvement of civil bureaucracy NRB with no feedback from the most affected stakeholders, i.e. no policy ownership by civil bureaucracy

    Bureaucracy answerable to less qualified elected representatives under the policyConcurrence of District Nazim mandatory for appointment of DCO and other executive staff

    *

  • Reason for failure (Contd.)Without capacity building of civil service officers, such radical structural change proved detrimental to the public servicesMajor political parties did not accept the systemDecentralization of only provincial functions already limited Unclear administrative responsibilities between local and provincial governments

    *

  • Reason for failure (Contd.)Formulation of plan without provinces consultationNo effective administrative control of provincial government over local governments Poor coordination between provincial and local governments

    *

  • Thank you*