JAMAAT-e-Islami ended its almost month long sit-in outside Sindh Assembly following the provincial government of PPP agreed to amend the contentious Local Government Act.
As per the consensus reached, all departments of the education and health sectors including hospitals and dispensaries will be handed back to Karachi Municipal Corporation besides Provincial Finance Commission Board will be formed within thirty days after the LG elections.
It is a matter of satisfaction that, despite being in majority in Sindh Assembly, the PPP listened to the grievances of a political entity on the very important legislation.
This political spirit in fact is need of the hour to take forward the country and address the problems of the people.
We expect that the PPP will also engage with other opposition parties in Sindh Assembly including the PTI and MQM-P in order to come up with such a piece of legislation that really transfers the powers to the grassroots level.
It was in the era of PPP that the 18th Amendment was enacted by Parliament and the powers were devolved to the provinces.
The essence of this Amendment was to further devolve the powers to local governments so that the problems of the people could genuinely be addressed at their doorsteps.
Hence, one expects the PPP will move ahead with this vision and the powers and funds that are currently rested with the Chief Minister will be handed over to the local governments.
The formation of Provincial Finance Commission, indeed, is a step in the right direction but as has been the stance of the PPP, population of any district should not be the only main criterion for distribution of resources rather the need and requirements of the specific area must also be taken into consideration.
There are certain backward areas in Sindh province which require more funding so that basic amenities could be provided to the people there.
A fair mechanism needs to be evolved for distribution of resources to the local governments.
