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Devolution in Pakistan

Asian Development Bank


Musharraf Cyan
Douglas Porter
Hamid Sharif
Department for International Development
Jackie Charlton
World Bank
Zahid Hasnain
Nick Manning
Government's intentions
Principal objectives:
to inject new blood into a political system considered to be the
domain of historically entrenched interests;
to provide positive measures enabling marginalized citizens
women, workers, peasants to access formal politics; and
to introduce a measure of stability into a turbulent political
scene by creating a stronger line of accountability between new
politicians and local electorates.

Technical objectives:
Improved delivery of social services;
Improved access to justice in the form of improved performance
by local administrations, courts and police, with greater
awareness of basic human rights protected under devolution.
How can devolution assist
in service-delivery
improvements?
Provinces

Provincial efficiency incentives

Nazimeen and
senior staff

Voice Managerial power

Citizens/clients Client power Providers

Services
Key incentives in the
devolved structures
Incentives for Provincial Budgetary certainty
Nazimeen and efficiency Enhanced autonomy in preparing the budget
senior staff incentives Incentives for local revenue-raising
Citizen Councilors motivated to listen to citizens
power/Voice The pull from councilors is stronger than that
from the Provinces
Incentives for Managerial power Staff working in the district are employed by
service providers the district
Nazimeen authority over senior staff
External oversight
Adequate deployment of staff
Client power Citizen dispute resolution
Community management of facilities
Highlights: location of the
employer function for district
province has primary authority

Balochistan
staf

Punjab
NWFP

Sindh
district has primary authority
mixed
Budget Control Paying salaries from its own budget
Authority to dismiss surplus staff
Establishment Controlling overall staff numbers
Control Controlling disposition of staff within
district
Recruitment Authorized to hire
Oversight of merit
Legally recognized as employer
Career Management Offering promotion
Making transfers within local government
Performance Directing and supervising activities &
Management tasks
Conducting Evaluations (ACRs)
Undertaking discipline/dismissal
Pay Policy Setting overall pay rates
Setting hardship/remoteness allowances
How might it look in the
future?
Staff groups Appointment Control Establishment Pay policy
over the control
salary
budget
Staff from federal employment
groups (primarily District
Provincial With the
Management Group (DMG) and Federal or
Local With the federal
the Audits and Accounts Group) provincial Province
Government province government or
Formerly provincial government
Grades Service province
employment groups
17+
particularly Public
Health Engineering,
Rural Development, Grades To be passed
Local
Local Government, 116 Appointed by from the With the
Government
and Education the district District province to the province
Career
Employees who had earlier government district within indefinitely
Service
belonged to the rural district one year
councils
Proposed features of the
Provincial Local Government
A voluntary pool that senior provincial staf can apply to
Service
join.
Staf who had applied and been found suitable for
district employment would remain in their provincial
posts pending assignment.
Pool staf accepted into the district with explicit
performance agreements.
Staf members who wished to resign from the district
service could, with the permission of the provincial
government, return to the province.
The district could terminate the appointment to the
district, with the staf member automatically returned to
the province, with the right of appeal to the Provincial
Public Service Commission in the event of unfair
dismissal
Proposed features of the
Local Government Career
District Service established separately in each province.
Service
Legislation to ensure that all districts within a province
retain the same pay and grade structure.
To cover grades 116 only.
Recruitment to the districts to be at departmental level
within the district, with the Provincial Service
Commissions to oversee the quality of the recruitment
processes, but not to be involved directly in the
recruitment.
Transfer between districts would entail resignation from
one and appointment by another.
Transfer from districts to provincial or federal
government employment would entail resignation from
the district.

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