Divisive local government history of Karachi

It is difficult to sum up any metropolitan' historical overview in few lines, but on the occasion of the 70th Independence Day of Pakistan it is important to analyze and debate on the dismal reasons of past that never allowed the society and state altogether to attain stability and prosperity.

Despite the fact that Karachi provides 70 percent revenue to the national exchequer and shelters more than 10% population from all over the country irrespective of cast and creed, it's share is meager on national benefits and policy-makings. In fact lots of socio-economic gains could have been attained from the magnitude and potential of the city by investing sincerity, dynamism and devolution of authorities, yet the fact is both provincial and federal governments kept the powers centralised, therefore as a result people here have always been deprived from their rights, civil institutions remained at halt from functioning and the local resources always exploited by the politico-feudal class of Pakistan.

After 70 year, Karachi is unable to shape up any real local government. There are reasons; at one hand the local government elections were hardly and irregularly held, while on the other hand the various local government systems that have been promulgated via ordinances, constitutional bills and amendments were politically motivated which have always kept the city more in a state of depriving rather to develop it. 

On 14th August 1947, Karachi inherited the Karachi City Municipal Act 1933 introduced by the British Raj. Through this Act the Municipality of Karachi had been given the status of Karachi Municipal Corporation with a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and 57 Councilors. Besides, the city had been made the capital of Sindh province in British India and later on after Independence was chosen as the capital of Pakistan. The history of local government elections inside Pakistan  begins from the regime of Gen Ayub Khan when (after abolition of 1956 Constitution) he held non-party local government "Basic Democracy" elections via an Ordinance in 1959. With 80,000 elected Basic Democrats he introduced a 5-tier system, however it was aimed more towards strengthening his Presidential form of government and concentration of civil authorities, rather empowering the grass-root class. As Municipal Corporation of  Karachi was demoted to divisional level and administratively subordinate to the West Pakistan Department of Basic Democracies and Local Government. Besides, the status of Karachi as the national capital was taken away under his regime and Islamabad was made the new capital of Pakistan.

After the Separation of East Pakistan, new legislations were being devised for the Constitution of 1973, when the then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto  introduced the Sindh People's Ordinance of 1972 in which Karachi Municipal Corporation was officially restored and through an amendment in 1976 it was upgraded as the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC). The administrative area of Karachi was also established as Karachi Division, which was subdivided into five districts; Karachi Central, Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi South and Malir. But he didn't hold local bodies elections during his 8-year reign and the Corporation was run by civil bureaucrats. Also, the city witnessed serious ethnic marginalisation in his tenure because of introduction of quota system and language controversy.

General Zia ul Haq, after coming into power reviewed the system of local government in his martial law regime and vowed to establish this system on strong footings by launching the Sindh local Government Ordinance 1979 that lessened a bit the role of Mayor in civil functions compared to 1972 Sindh Peoples' Ordinance. Also, the local bodies elections he held were non-party basis which saw Abdul Sattar Afghani as Mayor twice in 1979 and 1983, and Farooq Sattar in 1988. These elections helped the city to, at least, evolve some shape and form of  local governance on modern footings.

However, after the end of Farooq Sattar' tenure as Mayor in 1992 the successive federal governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif didn't hold local bodies elections and Karachi was kept being run under the Administrators system, largely civil bureaucrats.  

 

General Pervaiz Musharraf after taking the reins of the country through martial law in 1999, tried to establish his authority by focusing on grass root governance and prioritising urban political management. Therefore he passed the Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001, which aimed at a new devolution of financial resources and responsibilities back to Karachi city from spatial planning and development facilitations to municipal services. It also merged the five districts of Karachi into a Karachi District that had a City District Government of Karachi overseeing the administration of the area, with 18 Towns and 178 Union Councils, each governed by elected officers. Under this system, fresh local government elections were held and Karachi saw better civil amelioration under the Nizamat of Naimatullah Khan and large-scale development and civic progress under Mustafa Kamal respectively.  

After the departure of Gen Musharraf, the Asif Zardari-led Pakistan Peoples Party' government repealed the 2001 Ordinance and passed the Sindh People's Local Government Ordinance (SPLGO 2012) in Sindh Assembly, restoring back the Metropolitan Corporation and five District Municipal Corporations in Karachi.  Further on, the Sindh Assembly approved the Sindh Local Government Act (SPLGA 2013) that adds another District Korangi and two District Councils of rural Karachi in the city administrative fold. According to Sindh Government spokesman, the SPLGA 2013 mirrors the Sindh Peoples Ordinance 1972, but in practice it isn't. As the 1972 Ordinance empowered the Mayor and Metropolitan to have oversight in many areas like city planning, development and etc but under the SPLGA 2013 not only the above functions have been curtailed, also some important departments within the KMC such as KWSB, KDA, KBCA, Solid Waste Management and etc are taken away from KMC to merge with Sindh Provincial Government.

However, under the 2014 orders of Supreme Court "to restore Local Government System", the Sindh government conducted local government elections in 2015 with Waseem Akhtar elected as Karachi Mayor with depleting power and authority. That's why in the new set-up under SPLGA 2013, Karachi is the victim of ongoing administrative tussle between Mayor and Sindh Government. The civil and municipal infrastructure of the city has been ruined, and Karachi is in sever grip of multifaceted problems like shortage and poisonous of water, outdated sewerage and drainage system, poor air and hygiene quality, inadequate transportation and massive traffic jamming, pollution and depleting urban forestry, power and housing shortages, ruination of coastal biodiversity and etc.    

In democracy, the level of local government comes before provincial and federal governments. The basic services for citizens are provided by local governments and that's also a opportunity to the locals from all walk of life including poor people, minorities and women to contribute in the development of their communities and influence the decision-making processes that are directly relevant to their lives. Ultimately, that strengthens local institutions for better governance. But as far as Karachi is concerned, unfortunately that neither happened in the past nor seems likely in near future.

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Editorial, Infocus