Municipal benchmarking and service delivery performance

After promulgation of new system of local government in Pakistan under the Local Government Ordinance (LGO) of 2001, the municipal service delivery was entrusted to the newly established entities called “Tehsil Municipal Administration” (TMA). TMAs have been declared as body corporate responsible to plan and implement plans and projects according to their resources and the council’s vision.

Various studies have indicated that since their creation in 2001 municipal service delivery under TMAs has improved. However the fact remains that municipal services provided by TMAs do not benefit most and disease and debility caused by poor water and sanitation continue to hamper the development potential the population of North West Frontier Province (NWFP). An under five-mortality rate (U5MR) exceeding the national average and a high incidence of childhood malnutrition are symptomatic of the poor status of sanitation and hygiene in NWFP. This is despite the fact that the Government of NWFP, as well as donors, NGOs and citizens, have deployed and continue to deploy significant funds towards water supply and sanitation. This state of municipal service delivery by TMAs suggests the need for a more efficient utilization of existing resources through an evidence based systematic approach to decision making.

Realizing the need for improving the municipal service delivery by TMAs, a study was conducted in two target TMAs of Mardan and Takht Bhai to help identify key feasible performance indicators for municipal service water and sanitation delivery and establish a Performance Benchmarking system. The initiative was designed to allow informed decision-making and course correction mechanism within TMAs to eventually result in improved municipal service delivery.

After the successful completion of the pilot phase, the performance benchmarking system was then replicated in four other TMAs of District Peshawar. In the light of the insights developed through benchmarking, elected councillors and staff were engaged in a dialogues process to help develop a vision for the entire Tehsil and identify key targets and strategic options for TMAs to improve service delivery.