The general mandate of the local government is to assist the local people through needs assessment, planning and implementation of development projects for their socio-economic uplift. The local government institutions are Union Councils, Town Committees, Municipal Committees and District Councils. At the district level there is one Assistant Director Local Government who is supposed to supervise and support these institutions. The Assistant Director is headed by the Deputy Director and Director at Divisional level and Director General at the Provincial level. Secretary Local Government and Rural Development is the overall in-charge of the Local Government Institutions. Previously, the Assistant Director Local Government was also working as the Secretary District Council. The Local Govt institutions were established to ensure decision making and implementation at the grass root level and to help planning from bottom to top. Due to various reasons this has not proved successful. One of the major reason is that most of the decisions were still made from top to bottom. Lack of funds is another reason for the failure of these institutions. The tax system and mobilization of resources hindered the functioning as envisaged during formation of these institutions.

The Union Council is the lowest tier of the local bodies system. In Loralai there are 18 Union Councils comprising of Muslim seats, Men/Women and peasants members, for detail see annex (8). All the members are elected by the people. All the Union Councils with the exception of Sinjavi have no source of income of their own, and depend wholly on government grants. An amount of Rs.13,000/- per Union Council was provided by the Government annually till 1995. The annual grants presently given to these Union Councils by the Government are very nominal and for the last few years they have not received their grants at all due to financial crunch. With such meagre resources they cannot fulfil their mandate to provide basic needs of public education, health, livestock and drinking water supply. Similarly no development activity can be taken by them. Details of income and expenditure are presented in annex (9).

The only Town Committee in the district, the Town Committee Duki, comprised of 5 Muslim members, 2 women and one worker. The sources of income are from octroi, property tax, lease land tax and conservancy tax. The details of income, expenditure and strength of staff are shown in annex (9). According to this annex, the income in 1991 was Rs.3,70,000/- where the expenditure during the same period was Rs.3,63,365/-. The income has increased to Rs.12,32,000/- during 1995-96, whereas the total expenditure was Rs.12,30,000/-. The expenditure incurred on road maintenance, street light and sanitation, besides office and staff expenses. The Town Committee also charges Rs.15/- per month as water charges.

The Municipal Committee Loralai comprises 20 members. Off these 20, 16 are Muslim, 2 women, one worker and one minority member. The Municipal Committee Loralai earned income from octroi, property tax, lease land tax and other minor fees/taxes. It incurs large expenditure on road maintenance, street lights, solid waste disposal and other development activities. The budget is in deficit and the committee also faces difficulty in recovering octroi instalments. Large amounts are recoverable from octroi contractors. During the current year the octroi contract was auctioned for Rs.10,800,000/- and suitable funds were earmarked for the development of Loralai city. In the past, a marriage hall, rest house, and bridges were constructed. The Municipal Council also bears the cost of road maintenance. There are 8 kilometres of black top road within the Municipal Committee jurisdiction. Details of income and expenditure statements plus the staff strength are given in annex (9).

The district council Loralai comprises 18 Muslim members, and has special seats for 2 women, one peasant, one minority member and one worker. After the imposition of Zila Tax last year the income is now sufficient to run the office staff. The Zila tax is imposed on all items except agricultural products. Furthermore, Rs.5/- is charged per tonne on coal.

The other sources of income are tax on transfer of real estate, rent on District Council Buildings, contractors fee, Bank profit, and government grants, if applicable. The total income of the district council was Rs.742,281/- in 1993-94, which increased subsequently to Rs.1,466,028/- during 1995-96. The expenditure incurred during the same period was Rs.764,948/- and Rs.1,312,759/- respectively. For details see annex (9).

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