The effective and efficient performance of governing bodies is a prerequisite for good governance. Effective governance ensures the smooth delivery of services to people. However, institutions in Pakistan have become dysfunctional. A plethora of governance issues— redtapism, political polarization, politicization of institutions, discretionary power being in the hands of a few people, arbitrary distribution of authority— has made the system lame-duck. Genuine grievances of the citizens are not being addressed forthwith. In addition, services are not being delivered to the masses. Socio-economic rights of the people are being trampled on relentlessly. Given the shambolic state of affairs of governance, it would be helpful to carry out the following to get rid of the formidable administrative challenges for good.
Reforms in the electoral process are the need of the hour. So, in this regard, following steps should be taken urgently: first and foremost is the delimitation of assembly constituencies according to the garnered data of the recently conducted census. The second point is the formation of new voter lists based on the census. The third step is the complete autonomy of the Election Commission of Pakistan according to the Constitution so that they can conduct free and transparent elections without any influence from even caretaker governments.
Besides the autonomous status, the ECP should be conferred the administrative power for the time in order to hold smooth elections. The fourth strategy to ward off election rigging is the application of electronic voting machines. Last but not least is the whole-hearted implementation of Articles 62 and 63. Using these constitutional clauses, contenders who do not fulfill the criteria, should be barred from contesting elections.
Work should be categorically assigned to each administrative cadre in such a way that erases confusion. To ensure coordination and for oversight of affairs among ministries, an inter-ministerial organization should be established.
Democracy is the name of consultation and consensus among members of a group rather than the imposition of one man’s decision. Regrettably, it seems that political parties in Pakistan have been wriggling out of conducting intra-party elections for party office-bearers. In contrast, they rely on a one-man show. Decades ago, intra-party elections were conducted at the grassroot level. However, such practices have hardly been found in political parties since the 1970s. Now, a party supremo has absolute power in all matters of the party, including selection of office-bearers. As a result, party members use unfair means to make their position within the party ranks. In other words, meritocracy and democratic selection and promotion of members of the party have faded away completely.
The Eighteenth Amendment and the Seventh NFC Award are considered landmark events in the history of Pakistan because these have ensured the complete autonomy of provinces. This historic development has empowered the federating units in terms of legal, administrative and financial matters. Along with making the provinces autonomous, the Amendment also obligates provinces to devolve power and resources to the lower tier of government. However, despite knowing the influential role of local government in terms of services delivery, provinces seem reluctant in the devolution of administrative and financial powers to them. Therefore, the ultimate purpose of the devolution process has not been accomplished yet.
The institutional deterioration and the paucity of effective governance are the major causes of ever escalating socio-economic and political problems in the country. The entire bureaucratic apparatus has been dysfunctional. It seems that all the administrative units have been lukewarm and indifferent to people’s concerns. Against this background, the state must streamline all administrative cadres including the police service, revenue administration, land management and judiciary, expediently in accordance with the recommendations suggested by the National Commission for Government Reforms. These recommendations should be implemented in letter and spirit so that services delivery to masses can be ensured and the work performance can be improved.
The legal maxim ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ is applicable in the context of Pakistan because of its complex system of judiciary. The judicial process moves at a snail’s pace and is also expensive. A victim passes a rigorous course of judicial process to achieve justice. Therefore, victims avoid approaching courts. Moreover, there are many cases which have not been prosecuted for decades due to outdated investigative techniques. In many cases, perpetrators manage to escape from punishment because of the lack of evidence in court. Along with criminal and civil cases, the provision of justice in commercial cases is also dire. Tax violators are immune from accountability, bank loan defaulters are not paying their debts by using unending stay orders granted by the courts. Resultantly, the overwhelming unresolved cases and the lack of expeditious provision of justice make the judicial system a lame duck. Its glacial work is losing the true essence of justice.
Excessive authority in the hands of a few people is considered a stumbling-block in the way of effective management practices. The concentration of power at the central level, both in the federal and provincial governments, is the cause of delay in the approval and execution of policies. A convoluted managerial process takes a lot of time in doing any piece of work. On the other hand, an even distribution of work among ministries and departments not only relieves work burdens but also improves efficiency of work.
Along with the concentration of power at the centre, arbitrary distribution of authority among administrative units, sometimes, creates ambiguity in the execution of any projects. The above-mentioned fault lines in the administrative system need to be addressed on a priority basis. So to solve this issue, work should be categorically assigned to each administrative cadre in such a way that erases confusion. To ensure coordination and for oversight of affairs among ministries, an inter-ministerial organization should be established.
