Decentralization pakistan

Pakistan's Decentralization:
Implications and Challenges for
Delivering Water and Sanitation
Services

Raja Rehan Arshad

Water and Sanitation
Program for South Asia

1


Big Bang Decentralization


Local Government Ordinance promulgated on
August 14, 2001




Devolution of political and fiscal authority to
elected Local Governments
Decentralization of administrative authority

Water and Sanitation

2

Pre-Devolution Context


Four Provinces







Districts




Sind
Balochistan
North-West Frontier Province
Punjab
Sub-divisions for deconcentrated arms of the provincial
government administration and technical line
departments

W&S service delivery being a provincial
responsibility
Water and Sanitation

3

Major Impediments


Overlap of jurisdictional assignment


More than one technical department responsible
for W&S







Public Health Engineering Department, and Local
Government and Rural Development Department in rural
areas
W&S authorities and/or municipalities in urban areas

Centrally planned system of service delivery
Absence of accountability between the
providers and the client
Water and Sanitation

4


Major Impediments (Cont…)





Lack of capacity and appropriate institutional
framework for sectoral planning; preparation
of financially viable sector investments; and
management of demand responsive
investments
Absence of strategic vision – in particular the
implications of urban and rural transformation
for the W&S sector.
Water and Sanitation

5


W&S Service Delivery Situation


W&S systems investments without
consideration of O&M arrangements








Centrally financed, operated and managed
In the last decade, move towards community
ownership, and operation and maintenance, but old
systems still a major liability
Both in rural and urban, public sector water utilities
heavily subsidized by the government
In rural areas, cost recovery less than 10 percent
In urban areas, cost recovery between 10 to 40
percent

Water and Sanitation

6


Local Government Ordinance (LGO)
2001






Creation of approximately 100 district
governments and district councils (average
population of a district is one million)
Creation of approximately 350 tehsil municipal
administrations and tehsil councils (average
population of a tehsil is 500,000)
Creation of approximately 7,500 union

administrations and union councils
(population ranges from 18,000 to 28,000)
Water and Sanitation

7


LGO 2001 (Cont …)








Direct elections have been held only at the
Union level
The Deputy Mayor of the Union Council is a
member of the Tehsil Council
The Mayor of the Union Council is a member
of the District Council
All the union councilors in a tehsil and district
elect the Deputy Mayor and Mayor for the
respective tehsil and district


The Mayor and Deputy Mayor have to contest on
a Joint Ticket (one vote for both)
Water and Sanitation

8


Salient Features of the LGO 2K1


Complete fiscal authority to each level










However during transition, the province is maintaining some
decision making with regards to appointment of staff, setting of
tariffs and tax structures, etc.

Rural – Urban divide has been removed
Mega cities (million plus) have become City Districts and
the remaining districts are referred to as Common
Districts comprising urban and rural areas
District, Tehsil, and Union are not subordinate to one
another
Principle of Subdiarity is the main theme
Tax base for each level

Water and Sanitation

9


Salient Features (Cont …)


The new law has:




Decentralized service delivery providers and
assets (approximately 30 provincial departments
ranging from social services such as health and
education to agriculture and soil conservation)
Removed jurisdictional and functional overlap of
institutions

Water and Sanitation

10


Salient Features (Cont …)






Introduced a new system of transparency and
accountability
Empowered local governments to enter into a
range of institutional arrangements – from
community owned systems to contracting out and
contracting in of services

In order to ensure flexibility district
governments can transfer functions to the
lower levels
Water and Sanitation

11


Salient Features (Cont …)




The lower levels can assume functions
provided they finance them themselves and
get appropriate clearances
To strengthen participation two institutions
have been created:




Village/Neighbourhood Councils, which will be
elected
Citizen Community Boards, which will have to be
registered with the district government
Water and Sanitation

12


Different Tiers


COMMON DISTRICT








ZILA COUNCILDISTRICT
GOVERNMENT
TEHSIL COUNCILTEHSIL MUNIPAL
ADMINISTRATION
UNION COUNCILUNION
ADMINISTRATION
VILLAGE

COUNCIL/NEIGHBOUR
HOOD COUNCIL



CITY DISTRICT








ZILA COUNCIL-CITY
DISTRICT
GOVERNMENT
TOWN COUNCIL-TOWN
MUNICIPAL
ADMINISTRATION
UNION COUNCILUNION
ADMINISTRATION
VILLAGE
COUNCIL/NEIGHBOUR
HOOD COUNCIL

Water and Sanitation

13

Key Outcomes


Rationalization of agencies responsible for
service delivery




For W&S, PHED, LGRDD, Physical Planning and
Housing and Urban Local Councils have been
merged at the Tehsil level

Removal of the rural-urban divide – creating
space to achieving financial and management
efficiencies through the creation of regional
municipal management units, i.e., the Tehsil
Municipal Administration
Water and Sanitation

14


Key Outcomes (Cont …)


Introduction of efficiencies through
encouragement of institutional and
organizational robustness, in particular the

introduction of:





Subsidiarity
Co-Production
Public-Private Partnership
Regional management of services including
regional utilities, management of multi-village
W&S systems, etc.
Water and Sanitation

15


Key Outcomes (Cont …)


Focusing on direct lines of accountability with
a focus on information transparency and
localized decision making



Participation of citizens in decision making
and service delivery through the Citizen
Community Boards (CCB’s), through which
25 % of the development budget has to be

spent
Water and Sanitation

16


Key Outcomes (Cont …)


Provincial Finance Commissions have been
established for intergovernmental transfers


Criteria includes:
 Population
 Poverty
 Backwardness
 Resources
 Incentive (Punjab only)

Water and Sanitation

17


Extension of Local Government


Village Councils/Neighbourhood Coucils




An elected body representing the interests of a
particular village or neighbourhood

Citizen Community Boards (CCB’s)


Non-profit organizations or stakeholder
associations working on development related and
social welfare activities

Water and Sanitation

18


Tehsil Municipal Administration
(TMA)


Responsible for Municipal Services in rural
and urban areas




Other levels of local government have no
responsibility and/or role for municipal services

except in City Districts, where the District (Metro)
level is responsible for macro municipal services
mainly (bulk water supply, etc.). Distribution and
solid waste is still the responsibility of TMA and/or
Union Administration

Average population of a tehsil is 500,000
Water and Sanitation

19


TMA (Cont …)


TMA has the flexibility to balance
decentralized service delivery against
economies of scale





Can have multi-village management
Single village management

TMA is responsible for three key components
of municipal management:





Sectoral planning
Capital works
O&M

Water and Sanitation

20


TEHSIL MUNICIPAL ADMINISTRATION
ORGANIZATION

Tehsil Council Secretariat

TEHSIL MUNICIPAL OFFICER

General Estab./Admin.
Audit

CO at
TMA HQ

CO at nonTMA HQ

CO at nonTMA HQ

CO at
non-TMA

HQ

CO at nonTMA HQ

CO at nonTMA HQ

Planning and
Coordination
•Spatial (Physical
Planning)

•Land Use Planning
(Land sub-division,
zoning, land use)
•Development
Facilitation/Control
•Building
Facilitation/Control
•Housing, Site
Development, Katchi
Abadi Amelioration
Plans

•Coordination and
liaison with neighbouring
tehsils and unions/VC

O&M Centres Working Under Chief Officer

Infrastructure and

Services
•Water Supply,
Sewerage/Drainage
•Sanitation
(Solid Waste)
•Roads, Streets and
Street Lighting
•Fire Fighting
•Parks and Open
Spaces
•Traffic Engineering

Regulation
•Facilities, Markets
and Enterprises
•Licenses
•Regularisation of
Tenure of Katchi
Abadis
•Land including Rights
of Way, Drains
(Temporary tehbazari and
encroachments)

Finance
•Accounts
•Budget

−Annual
−3 year rolling

−Cost accounting

•Revenue
−Vigilance

(Detection and prevention
of revenue leakages and
losses)

−Survey

(Revenue base – current
and potential)


Nature of the TMA









Body Corporate
Consist of a Tehsil Nazim, Tehsil Municipal
Officer, Tehsil Officers, Chief Officers from the
offices entrusted to the TMA
No distinction between a rural and an urban

area in the law
Can further transfer responsibility to the lower
tiers along with transfer of resources
Entire Tehsil space is a Rated Area for
Property Tax purpose
Water and Sanitation

22


Nature of the TMA (Cont …)




Can contract out and contract in
services
Upper tiers can transfer responsibility to
the tehsil along with transfer of
resources




TMA continues to be responsible for
regulating and monitoring service delivery

Cannot borrow from the capital market


However, upper levels can extend advances
or give loans
Water and Sanitation

23


Functions of the TMA


The TMA is exclusively responsible, in the
Common District, for planning, capital
investments and operation and
maintenance of:





Spatial Planning (land use and zoning)
Development Facilitation and Control (site
development and building control)
Municipal Services (water, sanitation, solid
waste, roads, streets, street lights, graveyards,
fire fighting, traffic engineering, abattoirs,
parks and open spaces)

Water and Sanitation

24

Composition




All present Town Committees, Municipal
Committees and Municipal Corporations
Provincial Government Departments
which will be decentralised to the TMA:





Local Govt. and Rural Development
Department
Public Health Engineering Department
Housing and Physical Planning (apart from
the nucleus for the District)
Water and Sanitation

25