ABSTRACT
Almost immediately after taking power in 1999, Pakistan’s fourth military regime articulated a seven-point agenda that in large measure entailed governance policy shifts – the key being decentralisation of powers and democratic local governance. Pakistan’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) articulated these goals in the pro-poor growth framework. The international aid community favored this reform climate and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) took a lead in supporting public sector reforms, especially by way of improving sub-national governance in a federal context. This paper focuses on the reform agenda articulated through ADB-assisted Balochistan Public Resource Management, and the complementary devolved social services programs. While it is still early to assess the impact of these policy shifts, we conclude that improved service delivery through better fiscal management is a long-term goal. The ongoing reforms are located within and impacted by historically difficult federal-province relations and a highly contested political climate. There is an inherent danger of institutional reforms being appropriated by entrenched elites. In conclusion, sub-national reforms cannot be isolated from the imperatives of federalism and local patrimonial structures, i.e. the political economy context. Development agendas should overtly address politics in designing and implementing governance reform programs.
