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DECENTRALIZATION REFORMS OF PAKISTANS CIVIL BUREAUCRACY (A STORY
OF 10-YEARS EXPERIENCE WITH NEW POLICY AND PLAN) Muhammad
IshaqueMEP11127Country: Pakistan One years Masters in Public Policy
Student at GRIPS, Tokyo / Civil Services officer in Pakistan
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Outline*Public Management Overview of PakistanDecentralization
based on New Public Management ideaDecentralization plan: salient
featuresRevised set-up after DecentralizationStakeholders
involvedPlan formulation and implementation processHow did the
change work?Reason for failure
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Public Management Overview of Pakistan:*Federal state structure
with Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtoonkhuwa as
Provinces (Federating Units), Islamabad & Federally
administered tribal areas
Provinces divided administratively into Divisions, each Division
comprised of 5-6 DistrictsTotal 27 Divisions in four provinces
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Overview (Contd)Pre-devolution set up at provincial
administration levelB) Division/District LevelA) Provincial
Headquarter*
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Overview (Contd)*Civil Bureaucrats as Administrative Head of
Ministry/Agency/Provinces
Divisional Commissioner supervising the whole Division,
answerable to Chief Secretary of the Province
Deputy Commissioner as the administrative head of District
level, answerable to Divisional CommissionerStrong administrative
authority at District and Divisional level in the provincesControl
of police and judicial powersPowers of revenue collection and land
administrationManagement of development fund allocated to
parliamentarians
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Overview (Contd.)*Issues that led to reform thinkingBritains
Colonial administration systemLow accountability of bureaucrats to
public and for actionsNo grass-root level representation in policy
and decision-making processNon-existence of Local Government as
third governmental tierCentralized mechanism of public services
provision and policy-making
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Decentralization based on New Public Management idea
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Decentralization Plan: salient features*Military government of
Gen Musharraf initiated Decentralization reforms in 2000Creation of
third tier of government i.e. local government with council,
budget, etc. with Nazim as Head of governmentAbolished the
positions of Divisional Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner
replacement with District Coordination Officer (DCO) at District
levelSeparation of Police and judicial powers from District
Administration
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Decentralization Plan: salient featuresEssential basic services
devolved from provincial governments to Local Govts Health,
Education, Agriculture, Revenue, etc.DCO and other district level
officers accountable to Nazim and District Assembly, as well as to
Chief Secretary Qualification for candidacy of Nazim just 10 years
schoolingDistrict Assembly to receive budget grants from Provincial
government and allocate
*
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Revised set-up after Decentralization (Contd.)*A) Structure of
StateB) Structure of District Govt
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Stakeholders involved*
Institution Roles and responsibilitiesChief Executive/Prime
Minister(Gen Musharraf)Vision, approval of the composition and
tasks for Provincial Transition TeamsNational Reconstruction Bureau
(NRB)Design and formulation of plan and responsible to ensure
implementationProvincial GovernmentsCoordination and providing
support to NRB and implementation of structure through Provincial
Transition Teams in each provincePakistan ArmyMonitoring of the
whole plan formulation and implementation processMembership in each
Provincial Transition Team
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Stakeholders (Contd.)*Leaders VisionTo empower people and hold
public offices accountable to public and ensure service delivery at
the doorstep of people General Musharraf 2000
Came in Power in 1999 and left in 2008 after the defeat of his
favorite political party in general election
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Stakeholders (Contd.)Composition and Role of NRBChaired by an
Army GeneralHired consultants at national levelDesign of devolution
plan and implementation Provide Support to federal and provincial
governments in implementation of decentralization or devolution
reformsinteract with the Government organizations for
institutionalizing capacity building of local governments at all
levelsPropose reconstruction of civil services *
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Stakeholders (Contd.)Composition and Roles of Provincial
Transition Teamsa) CompositionExecutive arm of the Governor of the
Province Minister for Local GovernmentAdditional Chief
SecretarySecretary, Local GovernmentBrigadier from the Armyb)
RolesEnsure gradual decentralization; formation of District
Transition Teams for support at District level
*
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Plan formulation and implementation process*Given the vision of
Gen Musharraf, NRBs consultation with Provincial Governors and
Chief SecretariesDrafting of plan by the consultantsPresented to
the Chief Executive (C.E) through Prime Minister Secretariat and
approval of C.E and Local Government Ordinance, 2000 issued
VisionPlan DraftingConsultationApproval of C.EImplementation by
Governors
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Plan formulation and implementation process (Contd)Bureaucracy
resisted, but strong commitment of Prime Minister made it
possibleProvincial Transition Teams created Transition Teams at
District Level under the Chairmanship of DCOTransition teams worked
for transfer of assets, employees from Divisional to District
GovtsWeekly meetings of Transition team to review the progress of
implementationComplete implementation of revised structure in
2001*
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How did the change work?Services decentralizedRepresentation of
people in decision-making through District CouncilHowever, morale
of bureaucracy was loweredlaw and order situation aggravatedLocal
government to depend on provincial government for budget and
administrative issuesCivil services at District level not
formedSystem failed and could not deliver*
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Reasons for failureDesign of system for safeguard of personal
interestNo involvement of civil bureaucracy NRB with no feedback
from the most affected stakeholders, i.e. no policy ownership by
civil bureaucracy
Bureaucracy answerable to less qualified elected representatives
under the policyConcurrence of District Nazim mandatory for
appointment of DCO and other executive staff
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Reason for failure (Contd.)Without capacity building of civil
service officers, such radical structural change proved detrimental
to the public servicesMajor political parties did not accept the
systemDecentralization of only provincial functions already limited
Unclear administrative responsibilities between local and
provincial governments
*
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Reason for failure (Contd.)Formulation of plan without provinces
consultationNo effective administrative control of provincial
government over local governments Poor coordination between
provincial and local governments
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Thank you*