Perception of Local Government Officials about Role of Local Government System in Achieving MDG’s specific to Education and Health

Abstract

Local government system is the most efficient administrative unit to directly observe and deliver the basic needs of public in any country. Millennium Development Goals specific to education and health should also come under the prerogatives of local government based on their success indicators. But in Pakistan, MDG’s have not been treated by politically and administratively decentralized local governments. This qualitative research study investigates the possible role of local government as per perception of real actors, which could have been played in augmenting the scope of primary education and health. The cross-sectional data was collected through interviews from officials working in education, health, and local government departments. Purposive sampling technique helped to select participants who have witnessed the changes in governing system before and after promulgation of LGO, 2001. Semantic approach of thematic analysis was used to analyze the Qualitative data. Analysis discovered the overlooked merits of decentralized local governments in regards to indicators defined by MDG’s. Analysis also found the reasons that hindered the process of obtaining the MDG’s specific to education and health, and factors to improve service delivery in both of these sectors. More than 80% of respondents have validated the unconditional need of politically decentralized local governments to deliver basic needs of public.