New age of civic activism

نيسان ـ

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MUHAMMAD WAQAS

arabnews

The citizens of Karachi were in for a surprise at the beginning of this year. There was something different about the roads filled with overflowing gutters, huge garbage piles and open manholes — all signs of a slack, rather missing, government. As a way to protest the ineptness of provincial government, a local artist had stenciled face of the provincial chief minister around these garbage piles and manholes with a message, “fix it.”

Welcome to the new age of civic activism — no violence, no protests, but use of creative ideas to draw government’s attention to basic problems faced by the citizens on a daily basis.

The campaign has struck a chord, especially with the young urbanites of Pakistan’s largest metropolis, and is now gaining momentum across the country through social media. It is also proving to be effective as the provincial government has now taken notice of the uncovered manholes and ordered local bodies to improve condition of roads in the city.

On the sidelines, all political parties have been busy in playing the blame game and shifting responsibility for the mess. While the campaign has been successful in waking up the government, the real focus should be on promoting accountability of governance so that it can be improved for welfare of the citizens. Unfortunately, the current system of governance in Pakistan empowers politicians with vested interests, who abuse their powers in the presence of a decaying, corrupt and painstakingly slow judicial system.

After formation of local governments, it is expected that a stronger connection between the citizens and the government would be formed. As a result, the citizens should expect at least provision of quality municipal services, including road repairs, clean water supply and sanitation. However, these local bodies need to have financial, administrative and development powers to effectively and efficiently deliver the expected outcomes. With a toothless local government in place, the devolution of power to grass-root level will only be a mirage and hurt the development plans. There is a need to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of provincial government, district management and local bodies so that all stakeholders can make a unified and focused effort for development of their areas.

An important aspect of a local government system is the process of civic engagement and establishing accountability of local governments. In a democratic setup, citizen involvement is crucial to ensure state accountability and to make the elected officials more responsive to their needs. As highlighted by the “fix it” campaign, citizens can directly improve service delivery and participate in uplifting their areas. The government should not shirk away from its responsibility of sharing and disseminating information with the citizens, but instead include local communities in the consultation process for effective development. Such inclusive and collaborative relationships will foster greater trust and lead to better solutions for some of the most pressing problems faced by communities.

If the local and provincial governments are sincere in their intentions, there is no need to be afraid of this new wave of civic activism. They need to open their hearts and minds to welcome civic participation in governance. This relationship will only strengthen democratic ideals in the country to create a more equitable and inclusive sociopolitical structure.