In April 2019, the Local Government Act 2013 was amended and passed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial assembly as the Local Government Amendment Act 2019 in Pakistan. Amendments such as shrinking the list of devolved functions and offices under the supervision of the local government, abolition of the tier of elected district government and introduction of alternative dispute resolution bodies at different levels in settled districts, as well as newly merged tribal districts (previously referred to as the federally administered tribal areas (FATA) stand to have significant impact on the functioning and powers of the local government system.
In this new paper, DRI reviews the recent amendments made to the local government law of KP keeping in mind the framework and best practices of good governance. Particular importance has been given to the potential affect the amendments will have on the life of the common men and women in rural and urban parts of the province as well as how much they are in line with the principles for inclusive governance, human rights and devolution.
