Role of Good Governance and Local Government in achieving Sustainable Development Goals in Pakistan

Abstract

This study examines the role that good governance and local government played in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Pakistan, with the objective of analyzing the gap in how local government's ability to uphold SDGs through decentralization governance, inter-institutional coordination, and accountability is enhanced by good governance. It further describes how national policies of good governance, including rule of law, transparency and accountability, translate into effective community-level action. This framework also explores the challenges faced by both governance including limited inter-institutional capacity, poor decentralization, environmental pressures, and socio-economic demographic factors. The 2030 Agenda of SDGs was adopted in 2015. SDGs were adopted to address poverty, hunger, inequality, climate change, and environmental degradation. Pakistan has integrated SDGs into the budgeting process and national policies by incorporating SDG-aligned goals and establishing provincial and federal SDG support units. Pakistan's SDG ranking declined from 122nd to 137th, highlighting a gap between policy commitment and actual implementation. The study used a qualitative research method relying on secondary sources of data, including publications of international organizations, peer-reviewed journal articles, policy documents, government reports, and books. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine the relationship between SDG implementation, local governance, and good governance, and to identify key themes. Thematic analysis was chosen because it provides in-depth information. The results indicate that to close the gap between policy aspirations and practical results, Pakistan must achieve the SDGs through greater fiscal decentralization, better accountability systems, and closer coordination between all governmental levels.