HYDERABAD: The joint opposition in the Sindh Assembly comprising Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) and Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has announced a big protest to be held in Karachi soon against the amended local government (LG) law.Addressing a news conference in the local press club, PTI’s Bilal Ghaffar, MQM-P’s Mohammad Hussain and Javed Hanif and GDA’s Sardar Abdul Raheem along with Barrister Hasnain Mirza said that the opposition parties were in the process of drafting a set of amendments to the Constitution to redefine powers and domain of local governments. They said they were trying to evolve a consensus among the parties having representation in the National Assembly on the draft amendments.

The opposition parties would be holding protests on Jan 12 outside press clubs in all districts of Sindh, barring Karachi. A date for the big protest in Karachi would be announced later, they added.

MPA Mohammad Hussain said they were part of the nine-member steering committee, formed by the joint opposition to continue the movement against the amended law after decision of the multi-party conference convened by the MQM-P. He said more parties would be joining the steering committee.

He said this black law had been rejected by all political and religious parties of Sindh. Even the Sindh Local Government Act (SLGA), 2013 was a weak law and negated the spirit of the Article 140-A of the Constitution, he said, adding that as if this was not enough, PPP government further amended it to render LGs totally powerless.

‘Big joint protest in Karachi soon’

The opposition parties have been striving for an LG law that exists in developed countries; the Article 140-A also talks about all such powers and authority for LGs. If councillors were not empowered, they would not be able to deliver, he said.

Mr Hussain regretted that opposition parties’ bills on a better LG system was not considered in the assembly by the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). Under this bill, education, transport, health, master plan, housing, building control authority etc would have been placed under LGs but PPP did not agree, he said, and stressed that LGs needed to be financially empowered failing which they could not function.

MPA Javed Hanif said that LGs had certain authority under law and that’s why this institution was described as the third tier of government. LGs were supposed to carry out development works and undertake economic and infrastructure uplift, he said, and added that all such activities required funds by levying taxes. Union councils or committees perform certain function and town administrations undertake certain other jobs. Much bigger tasks, he explained, were within the domain of municipal or metropolitan corporations like land development, master planning, housing, mass transit etc.

“We are working on proposed amendments and trying to evolve a consensus among opposition parties in the National Assembly to clearly define powers of LGs through amendments to the Constitution as this chapter is missing,” said the MPA. It was proposed in the draft amendments in public interest. The Article 7 of the Constitution talks about three tiers of government, one of them LGs. “The Constitution needs a chapter on LGs so that all these controversies are put to rest once and for all,” he said, and observed that the Article 140-A was not implemented in letter and spirit.

Mr Hussain pointed out all stakeholders were against the [law enacted by PPP]. He said Sindh needed an LG law that could address all issues in both rural and urban areas of the province. “If an elected LG representative doesn’t have powers, how will he serve his electorates,” he argued, and said history was witness to the fact that PPP had never worked for a true LG system. He recalled that LGs were abolished in 1992 and a new LG system was introduced by [former president] Gen Pervez Musharraf; elections for local governments were held in 2001.

“The PPP held LG elections in 2015 only after Supreme Court expressed its anguish over a delay in holding of the polls,” he noted. The ruling party enacted a weak SLGA, 2013 only to make sure that LGs became unpopular among the masses, who would then lose trust in LGs. Now, one-and-half-year had passed and PPP was still running the LGs system through administrators, he said.

PTI’s Bilal Ghaffar said that PPP could not claim a single UC that could be considered a ‘model UC’ in the entire province that had been ruled by it for the past 14 years. Bad governance is visible everywhere. The Sindh government is trying to delegate more powers to the provincial tier which reflects its dictatorial approach.

He said problems could not be resolved unless an effective LG system was designed in line with the Article 140-A and the existing SLGA 2013. The amendments made to it need to be undone. He said PPP rejected the bill proposed by the opposition only on the basis of its majority in the house. Sindh remained deprived of a provincial finance commission over the last 14 years although an LG minister had promised to establish the same. would be announced. “We urge Supreme Court to hear petitions of MQM-P, GDA and PTI pending before it on the question of Article 140-A,” he said.

Sardar Abdul Rahim said that the recently enacted LG law reflected PPP’s “fascist tendencies”. He remarked: “Hyderabad would prove to be PPP’s Waterloo as it’s the city that had stood up against PPP’s dual LG system in 2012”. Such law could have been imposed under presidential system or by a dictatorial regime but if PPP believed in democracy, then it must realise that the Constitution gave autonomy to LGs, he said.

Published in Dawn, January 9th, 2022