No more the centre

Even though provinces now hold more powers than has ever been the case since 1947, with 17 key ministries devolved to them in phases following the passage of the 18th Amendment in April 2010, it is interesting to note that it is still essentially the federal government that is blamed for the many woes facing the country.

Though health, education, labour, social welfare, arms and ammunition – and of course law and order – are provincial subjects, there has been little focus on assessing why the provinces have failed so completely in managing them, or attempting to take control of them. Yes, problems do exist; the provinces complained late last year of a lack of funds.

But one would expect ‘richer’ provinces – notably Punjab – to make greater headway. The devolution of 17 ministries was after all the ideal opportunity for the PML-N government to demonstrate just how efficient it could be. In the game-play of politics, this could have been the right time to expose the inadequacies of the PPP by running an orderly ship from provincial headquarters.

This, of course, has not happened. Questions continue to come up about why there has not been a more determined effort to go after sectarian groups based in Punjab. Indeed there has been no visible effort at all. Meanwhile both from the government in Lahore and the media, criticism has poured in regarding the failures of the centre, and the worsening state of affairs everywhere.

Yes, there have been failures – massive ones in the overall context of our affairs and with many implications for the future. But few questions have come up regarding provincial governments and their role in all this. Yes, Balochistan can be counted as an exception, where the failures of the Raisani government did indeed lead to dramatic events. But for the most part, there has been too limited a focus on the role of provincial setups. The media too has directed all its considerable ire towards the failings of the Islamabad government.

There has been too limited recognition that in the setup we now have in place, at least as far as things stand constitutionally, the provinces have a huge role to play in governance. People need to be educated and informed about this, so that they can place what pressure is required to be put on chief ministers. Certainly the persons holding these key spots need to deliver to their people.

And yes, to achieve this, creases have to be ironed out. There are many wrinkling the surface at present. These are linked, especially for smaller provinces, to resource allocations and also to personnel. But the key factor is the need for provinces to play a stronger hand and demonstrate that they deserve the autonomy to make decisions that they have been given a say in. This autonomy is of course crucial to a federation being pulled in so many different directions, and should be used to help calm nationalist angst. Sadly, so far at least, this has not really been the case. The provinces need to pick up the pieces.

They must be aided in this by the centre. Since 2010, the devolution carried out through the 18th Amendment has not really been put into practice. People do not appear to have noticed this at all. To be of any use, it is essential that provinces make use of the increased roles given to them and involve their people in this as well. The significance of this is not just administrative. It also comes in terms of the need to convince people that they have a say over their own lives and can make changes in them when they choose to. This after all is the true meaning of devolution. We seem to have done too little to make it come real.

During the upcoming election campaign, political parties need to educate their voters about what devolution is all about. Right now, few have heard of the 18th Amendment or what changes it brought. This needs to be corrected. People must be familiarised with the manner in which the government works so that they can get the most out of it. After all, a democratic administration is expected to work for the people and with them. Unfortunately, this has yet to happen in our country.

Sometimes we wonder if provinces even know quite what they can do or how they should go about doing it. They now have the power to turn their own governing units into places where the light shines through the darkness, by improving health care, education and so much else. They must also consider ways to gather together resources for this so that they are not left depending on Islamabad. Some of our provinces at least have the ability to generate their own revenue.

The power of the 18th Amendment has not been recognised by the media either. Provincial governments need to do their bit in pulling the country together again. So far, they have failed in this task. Indeed, no effort has been seen in most cases from the governments in the four provincial capitals to go about this. Yet, they have not really been criticised or held accountable. This makes it less likely they will act for the people.

For them it is far easier to ladle blame onto the federal government rather than to take measures to amend the situation themselves. Such thinking has to change if we are to reach anything that resembles progress and development. As a nation we need to make this happen and bring provinces into the mainstream of national life rather than leave their governments standing on the sidelines and staying away from using the powers they now have. There should be some discussion on why this has happened and what the way forward is from here.

The 18th Amendment made sweeping changes. However, the impact of the law has not been felt. This, of course, is also true of many other pieces of legislation, but methods need to be found to alter this and get the system working efficiently and smoothly.

The writer is a freelance columnist and former newspaper editor. Email: kamilahyat@ hotmail.com