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PESHAWAR, Sep 07 (APP):Pakistan Development Alliance (PDA), a national coalition of civil society organizations, has released a White Paper on local governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), uncovering a deep institutional contradiction in the system, dubbing it as “Pioneer’s Paradox.”
The report, titled `The Pioneer’s Paradox: Local Governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, finds that despite having a progressive, formula-based financing system on paper, the province’s elected local governments are systematically stripped of power by parallel political structures controlled by provincial and national lawmakers.
According to PDA’s White Paper unlike other provinces, KP has a functional Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) that issues regular, formula-based awards. However, the analysis shows this system is a façade. The funds allocated under the PFC are not controlled by elected local councils.
Instead, their spending is dictated by District Development Advisory Committees (DDACs), powerful bodies chaired by and composed of provincial and national legislators, the report mentioned.
The document further notes that the DDAC (Amendment) Act of 2024 legally formalized the power of these legislator-led committees to approve and monitor all local development schemes, effectively hijacking the fiscal autonomy of local governments.
This is compounded by a history of political instability, including the premature dissolution of elected councils in January 2024, leaving the province without elected local representation.
In the White paper, PDA outlines key recommendations to restore powers of elected Local Governments.
These recommendations include repealing or amending the DDAC (Amendment) Act of 2024 to revert the body to a purely advisory role, ensuring funds are controlled by elected local councils.
The provincial government must hold local government elections without delay to fill the vacuum created by the 2024 dissolution.
Similarly, all funds allocated for districts via the PFC must be transferred to a discretionary budget controlled by elected Tehsil councils.
The KP Local Government Act must be fully operationalized through the immediate notification of all pending Rules of Business.
Create an independent local government cadre to build institutional capacity and ensure professional service delivery.
“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa presents a sophisticated model of centralization which fulfils legal requirements on paper by establishing a PFC, only to neutralize it through parallel political structures,” commented Zia Ur Rehman, PDA spokesperson.
“We call on provincial government to must end this ‘Pioneer’s Paradox’ to align its practices with its own progressive laws and return power to the people it was intended for,” Zia ur Rehman demanded.