Institutional Issues in the Social Sector Source: Zaidi,S.A. 2004

With the demise of bipolar world the unipolar world now sees itself as an elongated extension of the west to the non-west. An era where neo-liberal synthesis has found its expression in economics and politics. Market friendliness, privatization, deregulation, devolution and democracy are the key cliches that form the mix for societies. Governance, democracy and devolution form a critical union to make development sustainable. With the breakdown of command economies of former Soviet-Union and its allies, devolution of control is seen as a particular means for increasing participation and hence progress.

Not only a move away from the govt control but also a noticeable shift within the govt structure. Growing demand for more active participation, and hence devolution. Private sector and NGO’s are incorporated as important key actors in development strategies. The need for less bureaucracy, easy and efficient and timely delivery of services and more direct access to the beneficiaries of development related projects, also an important consideration in the shift in thinking and strategy. The world climate has been the critical factor in causing the shift, moreover, the economic problems faced by many underdeveloped countries have also helped accentuate this shift.

Many third world countries tries to reduce public expenditure to reduce budget deficit, and to restructure their economies-an important aspect of structural adjustment programme This devolution to the gross root level brought local govt, the private sector, and the NGO’s into the foray of development planning. Pakistan has also been influenced by these changes in thinking and perception taking place at the global level. The SAP, with its multifaceted emphasis on privatization, regulation, and liberalization has been accepted in Pakistan without enquiry about possible repercussions. The institutional and governance issues have yet to be tackled.

Issues related to delivery and functioning of social sector in Pakistan A general belief, that the social development has been poor, because of organizational and managerial issues and issues of delivery. A general recognition of the need for change in the way social development is delivered. Need for administrative reforms, Effectiveness of planning and administration affected by instability of governments to affectively implement its polices. The govt says it has not been able to make collective decisions in the past, a major reason for which is “ that all administrative, political and even scholarly attention has been focused on burocratic and centralized forms of collective decision making with little attention towards collective decision making

(as in the parliament, cooperative societies, district councils), and the downward hostility towards participatory decision making arrangements. This needs to be reversed”. The govt believes that “effective reform of local govt institutions has to be at the core of any development strategy aimed at alleviating poverty or development of social sector”. Social action programme (SAP) The first phase of SAP b/w 1993/94 and 1995/96 on the initiative of World Bank for the development of social sector at the cost of $ 4 billion with GOP share $ 3 billion. To address the relative failure of the development of social sector The four safe components – primary education, primary health care, rural water supply and sanitation, were said to suffer form the following: i.Poor planning and budgeting ii.Bureautic delay in the release of budgeted funds to line departments and executing agencies iii.Lack of trained staff to meet rapidly expanding needs iv.Abseentism and excessive or improper transfer of staff-managers as well as front-line workers, including teachers and health workers

v. Inadequate and unreliable supplies of key inputs (including, books, medicines, and contraceptives) needed to maintain service quality; vi.Locating schools and health units within communities with too little attention to the location of the most potential users; vii.Faulty construction; viii.Excessively centralized management of dispersed front line services, which could be more effectively run through decentralized system with flatter organizational pyramids; ix.Weak monitoring and bureaucratic obstacles to mid-course correction.

The World Bank suggested the following measures for improvement: 1.Implementation needs to be strengthened by improving planning, budgeting and operational efficiency. 2.The design of services should focus on quality and access with particular emphasis on women and girls. 3.There is need to improve the level of efforts in projects, on govt funding and on community responsibility 4.There has to be an improvement in political will. What happened to SAP? SAP seemed to be the right solution for lingering problems with its focus on the most basic sectors and on the decentralization, better governance, and community participation. M.Asif and N.Ahmad in an interesting evaluation of SAP had some important misgivings. Their findings are as under: 1.Overly ambitious programme, increases expenditure of govt three fold 2.Down stream recurring expenditures, the govt will have to face in future

3. Lack of local participation, it is necessary for SAP like prog bec effective demand of investment can be identified by lower tiers of govt with knowledge of local needs and programmes. 4. In some cases provinces failed to utilize the funds for SAP due to bureautic delays in projects appraisal 5. The M & E requirement of the SAP projects has been slow and inadequate. Rs. 500 billion SAP-II launched in 1997to alleviate poverty through development projects in rural areas was wrapped without achieving its objectives amid reports of massive corruption of Rs. 22 billion. Source: The News 30 June, 2002 (Box 20.1 and 20.2)

Governance and Decentralization Governance has been defined as an act or manner of governing, of exercising control or authority over actions of subjects, a system of regulations. It refers to a certain system of politics and how this functions in relation to a public administration and law.’ Governance has also been used to focus specifically on development. In this context governance means the manner in which the power is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources for development. Good governance included the following features “an efficient public service, an independent judicial system and legal framework to enforce to enforce contracts; the accountable administration of public funds;…respect for law

And human rights at all levels of govt, a pluralistic institutional structure, and a free press’. (World Bank report on Africa, 1989) Governance also encompasses the relationship b/w participation and developments by governments. The community participation, the role of women, sustainable development, and economic effects on environment and consequently on the population all form some part of the concept of the governance.

Government and Development in Pakistan There would be little disagreement that governance has been noticeably poor in Pakistan?? Public participation or democracy, must surely be one of the central tenents of a def of good governance. 28 years of Pak 57 years have been ruled formally by three military rulers only one free and fair general election was held Z.A. Bhutto’s democracy 1972 would hardly be termed as a model of good governance. M.Khan Jonejo can be considered to have better govt and governance than the Z.A.Bhutto, B.Bhutto, N.Sharif, and P.Musharraf. It is generally believed that the main obstacle to the achievement of comprehensive development in Pak has been the crisis of governance.

Excessively centralized governance (G. Cornia) There is urgent need for greater participation of the civil society in the design and execution of the social sector activities. This require institutional reforms takes place so that basic functions of the state such as public security, fair judicial resource, enforcement of contracts, and so on are actually fulfilled. To break the hold of federal govts, decentralization should take place not just at the provincial level, but beyond, at the district/UC level. The other key requirement for better governance, along with institutional reform and decentralization, is community participation and democratic control.