CGPA believes that ensuring citizens’ right to access information, as enshrined in the constitution of Pakistan and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, is the key to public accountability, realization of strong democratic institutions, and inclusive development. The legal framework for ensuring right to information (RTI) is very weak in Pakistan. CGPA seeks to promote right to information in Pakistan through.
· Policy research and advocacy for effective right to information laws
· Civil society capacity building and networking
· Strengthening demand for RTI through awareness raising
The Punjab Transparency and Right to Information Act 2013
The Khyber Pakhutnkhwa Right to Information Act 2013
The Pakistan Right of Access to Information Act 2017
The Sindh Transparency and Right to Information Act 2016
The Baluchistan Right to Information Act 2021
Threat to rule of law bears serious challenges to the overall edifice of society. CGPA believes that rule of law encompasses supremacy of constitution, abrogation of all discriminatory laws, removal of procedural hindrances which restrict citizens’ ability to access justice; independence of judiciary and judicial accountability; accountable, operationally independent, and service oriented police service; and gender sensitive justice disposal mechanism.
This program focuses on strengthening citizen voices to hold elected representative accountable and strengthening of legislative bodies at national and sub-national levels. Political parties’ development, legislative tracking, election monitoring, and voting rights are sub-programmatic areas under this program.
Legislative Governance - Policy Brief
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Legislators Performance Ranking and Analysis (June 2013 to June 2016)
CGPA strongly supports decentralization of power at local level, both administrative and fiscal, for effective social service delivery. In Pakistan, every military ruler introduced local government system, to be wrapped by elected governments once the military ruler was no more in power. CGPA strives for accountable local government system constituted by elected representatives, with full responsibility to initiate and manage service delivery at local level, and with decentralize fiscal and administrative authority.
Training Manual on KP Local Government Act 2019
Training Manual: 3-Day Training on Advocacy campaign skills for effective Local Governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Policy Brief: Effective Local Governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Trend Analysis of Development Budgets for Local Government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Though all program areas of CGPA feed into this thematic area, the focus is to foster scholarly endeavor and alternate discourses for promotion of pluralism, peace and stabilization in conflict affected areas of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. FATA political and administrative reforms are one of the key focus areas under this program.
Public policy and political pledges are mere allusion if not backed by sound budgetary allocations and sound plans for implementation the policies. Under this program, CGPA strives for ensuring adequate allocations for social service delivery, and pro-poor and gender sensitive budgeting. The priority sectors for budget advocacy are education, health, water and sanitation, roads and construction, and public safety. Under this project, CGPA also carries monitoring and evaluation of different development projects by different state and non state entities.
CGPA is implementing a project titled 'Promoting Public Accountability at Local Level' funded by Open Society Foundation. The project starts on December 1, 2012 and the life of project is 12 months.
The outcomes of the project are:
· Analysis of budget allocation and utilization practices at municipal and union council levels
· Capacity of 105 members of civil society groups enhanced on budget advocacy
· Policy advocacy for improving citizens’ participation in budget making process
Series of activities are being undertaken to accomplish the objectives and overall goal. These include establishment of constructive engagement with officials and elected representatives of town III of Peshawar district. Budgets of town III for key social sectors (Health, Education, Water and Sanitation, and Waste Disposal) of last three years are being analyzed. Based on this analysis and detailed Training Need Assessment, training materials are being developed. The project aims at training 105 civil society members through series of training events. Policy advocacy is being undertaken, based on research study. Establishment of Civil society network is considered as critical for sustainability of project activities. Three seminars are also planned under the project, advocating policy initiatives for inclusion of citizens’ voices in budget making process.
CGPA with Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE-USA) as implementing partner implementing Mobilizing Economic Reforms to Keep the Critical Space Open in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The project seeks to provide technical support in facilitating local economic development through the establishment of Economic Development Unit (EDU), and Peshawar’s Prosperity Five Year Plan (PP5P). CGPA in collaboration of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) is reaching out to market-oriented think tanks through a structured, participatory and inclusive approach of Public Private Dialogue (PPD).
CGPA realises that Pakistan, like many other low- and middle-income countries, is facing enormous challenges emerging from inadequate systems of food and health governance. While our diets are changing, our life styles are also changing, and this transition is adversely affecting our health status thereby increasing disease burden. We are home to a staggering 33 million diabetics and 43 million patients of hypertension while 65% deaths, mostly premature, are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, cardio-vascular diseases, diabetes, and tobacco use.
However, the light at the end of the tunnel is that the disease burden can be reduced with better policies and practices, and influencing the modifiable risk factors and adaptation of a healthy lifestyle by the people at risk .
In pursuit of finding, advocating, and implementing the best-practice policies to improve food and health governance, CGPA is engaging with various institutions and organisations . The main themes for such contacts are given below:
• Improvement in food safety standards, and nutritional status of various populations;
• Regulation of tobacco and new nicotine products with a whole of the government approach;
• Strengthening of health systems to provide better preventive healthcare services and standard treatments.
On social media, we can be found using #PreventNCDs and #FoodGovernance
Since our food systems and life styles are changing, so is our burden of disease. There was a time when communicable diseases were the leading cause of deaths and disabilities. With science-based advancements in treatments, vaccination, and public health infrastructure, an increasing number of precious lives were saved from premature deaths. However, there is a rapid increase in noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancers, heart diseases, hypertension, diabetes, and obesity owing to changes in dietary pattern, and sedentary life styles. In addition, we have a patchy information, diagnostic and treatment facilities for primordial and primary prevention. But the good news is that the rapid spread of diet-related NCDs can be controlled by altering the modifiable risk factors such as the availability and consumption of salt, sugar, and oils and fats. This policy brief sheds light on the problem of NCDs, food governance in Pakistan, and a brief set of policy recommendations for the governments.