Program Goals and Tasks
The goal of this program is to move toward poverty eradication and promote sustainable development in Pakistan by building civil society's capacity to create structural conditions for democratic development and good governance.
The task is to initiate participatory development approaches where people assume the central position at all levels in development projects, as an alternative to the top-down social welfare and charity approaches.
The participatory development or empowerment approach focuses on building the capacities of civil society communities to serve their own needs. It has been successfully used in projects such as the internationally renowned Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi. The brainchild of Dr. Aktar Hameed Khan, this community development program allowed communities in the urban slums to overcome problems of sanitation, housing, health, education and employment.
SAP Pakistan wants to help build a democratic society which includes the marginalized and the vulnerable in informing public policy. The Canadian International Development Agency and South Asia Partnership Canada began a partnership 15 years ago and result in the creation of South Asia Partnership Pakistan, an independent non-government organization in Pakistan that "trains the trainers" with an array of civil society organizations. South Asia Partnership Pakistan today has a network of over 2,000 community-based organizations involved in political education for a democratic society that respects human rights and gender equity. This program benefits participating communities by helping them become capable of planning and implementing sustainable development initiatives and accessing necessary resources.
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Supporting Pakistan NGOs: Phase One
Registered in 1989, SAP Pakistan arrived in the wake of General Zia-ul-Haq's military dictatorship and into a fragile democracy. For 11 years, the dictatorship had shrunk institutions, suspended democratic discourse, seen the emergence of fundamentalist forces in the country, and left Pakistan civil society in a state of total disarray.
When the program began, the goal was to improve the quality of life of the poorest segments of the population by funding community-based projects. As SAP Pakistan learned more about the nature of local non-governmental and community-based organisations (CBOs), it was evident that most of these organisations were still in their formative phase. Few had sufficient institutional capacity to plan and undertake viable community development projects and they needed help in developing their capabilities in project planning and management. So SAP Pakistan adapted to this need.
Consequently, in 1991, SAP Pakistan revised its program strategy and shifted its focus from a project funding to a capacity-building organisation dedicated to promoting democracy, equality, social justice and tolerance in society. The ultimate goal was to strengthen the capacities of these fledgling organizations to become catalysts for sustainable and democratic development in their communities and advocates for supportive policies and programs. The new approach emphasised training, the formation of networks and partnerships, and the implementation of long-term community organisations. SAP Pakistan designed its Resource Development Program to create a strong body of activists drawn from their local communities and committed to participatory development methods.
A strong emphasis was placed on increasing community understanding of issues affecting people's lives, SAP Pakistan started to promote social activism by linking micro development issues with macro development problems. Linking poverty to human rights, democratisation, and good governance became part of a myriad of challenges in strengthening civil society.
When the Government of Pakistan launched the Social Action Program in 1993, which acknowledged the need to transfer responsibility for development initiatives to local NGOs/CBOs, SAP Pakistan was poised to fill some of this gap as historically, Pakistan did not had a network of mature NGOs/CBOs with the ability to design and implement strong development projects in the social sector.
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Supporting Pakistan's NGOs: Phase Two
In Phase Two of the program, from 1995 to 2003, SAP Pakistan delivers an integrated program of capacity building support to organizations through training, project partnership and advocacy.
A 12 month training program provides NGOs/CBOs with a theoretical orientation of civil society and alternative development participatory processes, including workshops in gender and development, human resource development and financial management.
It implements targeted community development projects (link to projects) with CBOs/NGOs in Pakistan, supported by Canadian partner NGOs/CBOs through SAP Canada. Approximately half of its community development programs address the needs of women through its partnership program division and a significant amount of informal learning takes place in the community about gender equality.
Fostering CBO/NGO networking and collaboration, and linking these organisations to government and advocacy organizations.
Developing provincial and national networks capable of training additional organisations and communities has created a multiplier effect.
This program has provided the platform for SAP Pakistan to become a respected leader in the NGO community, particularly in terms of mobilizing the country's first national NGO network, the NGO Forum, and its engagement in dialogue and advocacy with the Government of Pakistan on policy and legislation issues.
SAP Pakistan actively and strategically promotes women's issues and gender equality in all its activities and actively collaborates with women's rights groups on women's human rights, economic empowerment and access to social services. Over half of its community development programs address the needs of women through its partnership program division and a significant amount of informal learning takes place in the community about gender equality. Depending on the geographic location, programs are either run by women or for women beneficiaries.
Recently, SAP Pakistan has implemented a "Women in Politics Program" promoting women as political leaders at the local level as a result of the Local Governance Reforms and Devolution.
The Canadian linkage and partnership development program of the PNSP aims to increase Canadian awareness and support of development issues in Pakistan using a three-pronged approach:
development education, foster dialogues, exchanges and learning to inform Canadians on gender equity, good governance, social justice and the promotion of all human rights, drawing on SAP Pakistan's experience in the field.
partnership development, focusing on building linkages, understanding, solidarity, as well as, project support for Canadian and Pakistani organisations working for social change.
NGO consultation held with both Canadian and Pakistani partners in Pakistan.
Through regular seminars, workshops, and brown bag lunches, the development education component of the PNSP has focused on engaging a diverse group of organisations in Pakistani development issues: NGOs, research and academic institutions, media, South Asian community organisations and ordinary Canadians. The PNSP also participates in SAP Canada's South Asian regional forums by providing a Pakistan perspective on important sustainable development issues, highlighting issues to the attention of policymakers and NGOs for possible programming.
While local governments are primarily responsible for the provision of basic services, their revenues have not kept up with population and economic growth. The Orangi Pilot Project in Karachi, is held up as one of the best examples of NGO-led development in an urban area. Known as one of the most successful NGO sanitation provision projects, this program has helped over one million people to improve sanitation since its inception in 1980.
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Pakistan's Social Action Program
In 1993, the Government of Pakistan (GOP), acknowledging the poor social status of its citizens, initiated the Social Action Program (SAP) to improve basic social services-elementary education, primary health care, population welfare, and rural water supply and sanitation.
An aid consortium including Asian Development Bank (ADB), (British) Department for International Development (DFID), the Netherlands Government and the World Bank supported the first phase of the Social Action Plan (1993-1997), and were joined by European Union in the second phase (1997-2002).
The first phase aimed to increase sector financing and monitoring and evaluation, while the second phase, based on lessons learnt in the first phase, placed more emphasis on policy development, governance, and capacity building.
The SAP was successful in terms of putting the social sector on the priority agenda of the federal and provincial governments, building capacity at these levels, and improving planning and evaluation. The SAP helped increase girl's education, and health and family planning services, often in combination with private services.
Due to the growing macroeconomic crisis, public expenditure on education, health, and population declined from 2.7 percent of GDP in the mid-1990s to 2.1 percent of GDP in 2001. The GOP and external assistance agencies did not fully anticipate the serious and entrenched neglect of public social services and underestimated difficulties in improving implementation and efficiency. Social sector development requires a social transformation and a radical change in the way social services are managed, with full recognition of the roles of communities and the private sector.
Pakistan's performance with regard to social development has been disappointing. While health and population indicators showed some improvement, education indicators stagnated. There was some reduction in the gender gap in education, but no progress was made in reducing the urban-rural gap. Because of weak governance and declining public expenditures, the SAP failed to achieve the targeted improvements in the social indicators.
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Local Governance Reforms and Devolution
The military government of General Pervaz Mussarraf initiated a number of reforms to address governance problems and long-standing structural challenges. On the political side, the Devolution Plan announced in March 2000, is a fundamental reform. It aims to replace the existing highly centralized and control-oriented government with a three-tiered local government system that institutes "people-centred, rights and responsibility-based, and service oriented" government structures.
The elected local governments took power on August 14, 2001 in over 100 districts in the four provinces. Local elections were held over a six-month period on a non-party basis, with full adult suffrage.
The Local Government Ordinance promulgated on 14 August 2001 provides for three levels of local government, each with a governing council:
district governments (107);
tehsils (about three per district); and
union councils (about 20-30 per tehsil), which comprise villages/urban wards.
Significantly, thirty-three percent of seats are reserved for women at all three levels of local government, and additional seats are reserved for peasants, workers, and minorities. The majority of elected council heads (nazims) and deputy heads (naib nazims) may belong to local influential families, but it is also significant that nearly 50 percent of councillors belong to disadvantaged sections of society, women, peasants, and workers.
Devolution, first from provincial to elected local governments, and then from the federal to provincial level, will bring fundamental changes to how all public services are planned, financed, and managed. The bulk of basic poverty-focused services, for health, education, agriculture, water, and natural resource management have been devolved to district and lower local governments. Provinces, once predominantly responsible for service delivery, will assume new responsibilities to support and supervise the performance of local governments, not as administrative appendages of the provincial bureaucracy, but as independent corporate bodies accountable to the electorate through political leaders.
In addition to elected councils, the Local Government Ordinance 2001 provided a number of institutionalised opportunities for citizens to participate in council affairs. Citizen community boards, and public safety and justice committees were expected to monitor local government activities. Citizen community boards were also empowered to prioritise investments for up to 50 percent of the local development budget for basic infrastructure and services. Unfortunately, the new government has postponed the formation of citizen community boards, which would have provided a platform for civil society to engage.
Public safety commissions at district, provincial, and national levels, introduced by this Government under amendments to the Police Act of 1861, offer new possibilities to depoliticise the police and to increase their accountability to citizens.
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Canadian NGO Project Partners
Christian Children's Fund of Canada (CCF)
Help The Aged Canada (HTA)
Hope International
Human Concern International (HCI)
International Development and Refugee Fund (IDRF)
Peacefund Canada
World Accord
Other Canadian NGO Partners
Alternatives Canada
CERAS
Coady International Institute
International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development
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Definitions
Human Rights, according to internationally agreed conventions, encompass economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right o an adequate standard of living - food, clothing, housing; the right to education; equal pay for equal work; and civil and political rights, such as liberty and security of the person, due process of law and freedom of expression and association.
Democratisation implies strengthening popular participation in the exercise of power, building democratic institutions and practices, and deepening democratic values in society.
Governance: While there is no commonly agreed definition of the term, it refers essentially to the manner in which power is exercised in society, how decisions are taken and how citizens have their say. It touches upon issues such as the interaction between state and civil society, the legal framework, public administration, development policies, peace and security. Characteristics of "good" governance include effectiveness, transparency, accountability, predictability, integrity, equity and participation.
Civil Society: This refers broadly to organisations and associations of people that are not created or mandated by governments. These may include non-governmental organisations as well as, grass-roots organisations, trade unions, co-operatives, churches, media, and professional and business associations.
source: action.web.ca
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