Devolving to Local Governmts Chapter 8: Devolving to Local Governments Local governments were first recognized as the third tier of government in the 18 th Amendment to the Constitution by insertion of Article 140A which states: 1) Each Province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative, and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of local governments. 2) Elections to the local governments shall be held by the Election Commission of Pakistan. The first section of the Chapter briefly describes the history of local government in Pakistan. This is followed by sections on alternate structures of local governments, functions performed, representation of special interests, fiscal powers, and transfers from Provincial Governments. Proposals are put forward in the last section on strengthening the role of local governments in Pakistan. 8.1. History of Local Governments The first post-Independence initiative for local government was the‘basic democracy’ system by the Government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan in 1959. This consisted of urban and rural local councils directly elected by the people that would be engaged in local governance and in implementing grassroots development. The second major initiative was undertaken by the General Ziaul Haq Government in 1979 by promulgation of Local Government Ordinances and local bodies were established in all four Provinces in 1979 and 1980. This structure of local government largely continued till the implementation of the ambitious Devolution Plan for 2001 by the General Musharraf Government. These three Governments were all military governments. The impetus for local governments was provided by two motives. First, this was seen as an exercise in gaining legitimacy by allowing elections, albeit at the local level only. Second, this was an attempt to by-pass and weaken Provincial Governments as larger sources of potential dissent. The incorporation of local governments by the passage of the 18 th Amendment, with Article 140A, is the first attempt in a democratic system to recognize the need for and role of a legitimate third Government in a Federation with four Provincial Governments in Pakistan. 75