ISLAMABAD, Aug 31 (APP): Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) ranked the provincial Assembly of Punjab at 1st position as it met for the highest number of sittings, 61, during the third parliamentary year in a comparative analysis of sittings held by each of the four provincial assemblies.
In its comparative assessment report of performance of Pakistan’s four provincial assemblies in the 3rd parliamentary year, the PILDAT showed that the provincial assemblies outrank each other in different Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
According to the PILDAT report, the provincial assembly of Sindh has met for 57 sittings during the year, while provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ranked third in provincial assemblies in terms of holding 55 sittings in third year. However, the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in year three has recorded an increase of nearly 6% from second parliamentary year when the assembly has held 52 sittings.
The provincial assembly of Balochistan which ranked last in comparative analysis of working days during third parliamentary year among four provincial assemblies met for 49 sittings. The Balochistan assembly during third parliamentary year has seen an increase of 48% over 33 sittings held during the second year.
According to the report, average working hours per sitting work out to be 1.42 in Punjab Assembly, 2.13 in Sindh Assembly, 2.4 in KP Assembly and 2.32 in Balochistan Assembly during the third year.
During the third parliamentary year, the KP Assembly is the most cost-effective provincial assembly followed by Balochistan Assembly and Sindh Assembly with Punjab Assembly being the least cost effective.
The Provincial Assembly for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) ranked on the top when compared with other provincial assemblies in terms of 147.02 working hours during the third year.
The working hours of the assembly has recorded an increase of about 30% when compared to 113.32 working hours during the second year of the assembly.
The provincial assembly of Sindh has met for 126.14 working hours which is a decrease of about 25% in working hours compared to the second year when the Assembly met for 168.15 working hours.
The working hours of 124 during the third parliamentary year in the provincial assembly of Balochistan has increased by about 11 per cent from the second parliamentary year when the assembly has met for 111.39 working hours.
In its third parliamentary year, the current Punjab Assembly has been convened for 102.44 hours compared to 140.32 hours during the second parliamentary year, recording a decrease of 27% in working hours between two years.
During the third parliamentary year ending on August 12, 2021, the provincial assembly of Sindh has passed 38 bills, followed by provincial assembly of the Punjab which has passed 34 bills, the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which has passed 33 bills and the provincial assembly of Balochistan which has passed 26 bills.
In terms of average bills passed by each provincial assembly in three years of the current term compared to the three years average of previous terms of each provincial assembly, only the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded improved legislative activity of average 122 bills compared to 83 bills in previous tenure.
This is an increase of 47 per cent in average legislative activity. The provincial assembly of Sindh has passed an average of 74 bills or 35 per cent fewer bills in first three years compared to the average of 114 bills passed by previous assembly in first three years.
The provincial assembly of Balochistan has passed 45 bills on average in first three years, which was a decrease of 25 per cent bills compared to average 60 bills passed in first three years of the previous Balochistan assembly.
The provincial assembly of Punjab has passed an average of 92 bills in first three years which was a decrease of 19% compared to the average of 114 bills passed by previous Punjab Assembly in first three years.
Instead of accelerating their performance on each of the key performance indicators (KPIs), provincial assemblies had shown a declining trend across most, if not all, KPIs.
Much like the previous years, little or no initiative had been taken in inviting public input and involvement and enhancing transparency and access for citizens.
