Islamabad
Pakistan's attempts to devolve authority has failed to empower the
people as the elite still hold key positions, a new report says.
The influence of tribes, families and political affiliations is
still paramount, said an analysis of the characteristics of the
district nazims or administrators conducted by the Social Policy and
Development Centre (SPDC).
The annual report for 2006-07 titled "Devolution and Human
Development in Pakistan" did observe some positive features of the
system like greater representation of marginalized groups,
especially women.
At the same time, it focused on the "state capture" of
administrative positions by the local elite.
"Although wider representation has been given to under-privileged
groups like women, real empowerment has been frustrated by election
malpractices and elite capture at the local level," Dawn Monday
quoted the report as saying.
"The political culture is still in the hands of local elite," the
report stated while naming the scions of six elite families of
Punjab who were elected in the 2001 and 2005 local government polls.
"It will take years to overcome and dismantle the deep-rooted power
structure (so that) common people could be empowered to effectively
influence decisions that affect their lives," said the study, which
Dawn noted was "a candid commentary on Pakistan's socio-economic and
political scene".
SPDC is a private research organization funded by the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA) that for the last several
years has been releasing annual review documents.
The report also makes a forceful plea for second-generation reforms
to realize the full potential of decentralization.
"Both the government and political parties have violated the
Election Commission's instructions and openly supported their
representatives" in the 2001 and 2005 local bodies' elections that
were meant to be conducted on a non-party basis, the report said,
adding that the chief ministers of the four provinces openly worked
for their candidates.
"Why did the political parties violate election rules?" the report
asked and also provided the answer: because district nazims had far
more administrative and financial powers than a member of the
national or provincial assemblies.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
