Redefining and localizing development in Pakistan

Pakistan has received billions of dollars in international aid and loans to support development in the country. Much of these funds have not achieved the stated social and economic goals set out by the projects, a conclusion reached by independent evaluation units within the very international financial institutions (IFIs) giving the funding. The reason for this is largely because projects fail to consider local realities and contexts and lack input from local communities. Amidst the squandering of millions of dollars and ineffectual urban development, local organizations have emerged as a strong voice for pro-poor development. This chapter highlights two such organizations in Karachi, the Urban Resource Centre (URC) and the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP), to showcase how local communities can use their own resources combined with technical assistance and lobbying/advocacy via the media to question IFI-backed government projects while proposing alternatives. Through a case study involving the Karachi Wastewater Management Project, I show how the URC and the OPP worked together by collecting documentation, mapping out existing local development, commissioning expert analysis, and mobilizing advocacy efforts targeting all levels of government to support an alternative plan, which ultimately led to the cancellation of a USS70 million loan from the Asian Development Bank. Examples like this empower local communities, paving the way for redefining development that is “by the people and for the people.”.