ISLAMABAD - Pildat’s Comparative Score Card on Quality of Governance across Pakistan's four provinces says Punjab is leading with the percentage of 42 per cent followed by KP with 37 per cent.
Balochistan and Sindh share the third position each with an overall score of 34 per cent, Pildat statement said Monday.
These scores are based on Pildat analysis of the data provided by each of the four provincial governments on quality of governance during their first year in office after the May 2013 General Elections. While assessing the quality of governance, Pildat has analysed both the Policy Formulation and Actual Implementation of Governance Policies. Policy Formulation included legislation and institution building.
Compared to the score assigned on the basis of the analysis, public approval ratings of quality of governance, based on a Pildat Public Opinion Poll conducted in July-August 2014, Punjab received the public approval rating of 48 per cent and topped the good governance list.
While Punjab has maintained its 1st ranking in the Pildat Score Card on Quality of Governance, it has scored six percentage points below, based on data on governance provided by the Punjab government. Quality of governance for KP government in its first year in office attained 37 per cent score, which is four percentage points higher than its public approval rating, 33 per cent. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, though, has retained its 2nd rank in comparative assessment on quality of governance as in public approval ratings.
The Pildat score assigned to quality of governance in Balochistan, based on data provided by the Government of Balochistan, is five percentage points lower, at 34 per cent, compared to public approval rating of 39 per cent. The province of Sindh, which had received the lowest approval ratings in the public opinion poll at 26 per cent, has improved its scores based on the analysis of the date on quality of governance during Sindh government's first year in office at 34 per cent.
The Punjab government is leading in 15 out of 24 parameters of governance while it has obtained highest score of 76 per cent in tax collection. The lowest score assigned to the Punjab government is in the parameter of management of unemployment at 21 per cent, where it is ranked 4th out of the provinces.
Compared to Punjab, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has ranked first in 2 out of 24 parameters of governance. These included management of unemployment at 38 per cent and poverty alleviation at 36 per cent. Overall, the KP government's highest score, 64 per cent is obtained in tax collection (where Punjab takes the lead with 76 per cent), followed by transparency at 50 per cent (Punjab has the leading score of 53 per cent). Its lowest score, 25 per cent, is in safe drinking water supply where it is ranked 4th out of the provinces.
The provincial government of Balochistan has outranked the other three provinces in five out of 24 parameters. It has obtained the highest score of 60 per cent in devolution of power to the lower tiers. It has obtained the lowest score, 21 per cent, in anti-corruption efforts, where it is ranked the 4th compared to the other three provinces.
Sindh has ranked first in three out of the 24 parameters of governance. These included use of technologies for better governance, scored at 46 per cent, energy production and management, scored at 44 per cent and annual development programme, at 40 per cent in which it shares the first position with Punjab. Quality of governance during the Sindh Government's first year in office has been scored the lowest in the parameters of transparency and devolution of power to lower tiers where it has obtained the score of 21 per cent.
Quality of governance is assessed based on a Pildat framework with 24 parameters. The scores are assigned on each parameter, based on data provided by the governments, by comparing quality of governance during 2013-2014 compared with the previous year of 2012-2013.
Pildat's objective behind developing a comparative ranking of the four provinces is to provide a fact-based, well-researched, non-partisan and easily comprehensible basis of generating a serious discussion on the quality of governance by the provincial governments during their first year in office. When a province is shown to have done better in a particular parameter or overall, it primarily means that the province has improved the performance over the previous year. This assessment of the quality of governance in general and the scoring in particular provides a benchmark for subsequent years to assess the trend in performance of the governments over the years.
Pildat has greatly benefitted from the support and advice of a 27-member governance assessment group who oversaw the development of the Pildat framework on assessment of the quality of governance.