Revolutionising local revenue management in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Local Government Act 2019 empowered the local governments to collect revenue and mandated them to provide many essential public services such as water supply, waste management, street lighting etc. Since the local revenue collection and record-keeping was mainly done manually, it was a labour-intensive process. The local governments relied heavily on physical files, registers, and, in some cases, paper records. This presented several challenges for the local governments in terms of revenue management and effective service delivery.
FRIMS – A beacon of transformation
With the vision to enhance the local governments' ability to generate revenue and effectively deliver public services, the KP Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department (LGERDD), with the support of the German Government, developed a Financial Records and Information Management System (FRIMS). As a pilot, FRIMS was initially installed at five Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and later upscaled to 19 TMAs.
FRIMS is a customised computer system which allows the local governments to streamline and automate financial processes including record-keeping, accounting, billing, reporting, and information management. It aims at enabling the local governments to manage their own-source revenues in a transparent and efficient manner. It helps them to improve their efficiency and accountability, while adhering to the sub-district regulations.
Digitalising local revenue management
FRIMS is much more than a mere digital system; it is a catalyst for change. By digitising their local revenue management, the local governments have streamlined their revenue collection and significantly reduced the risk of revenue loss. This digitisation is helping the local governments to track financial data on an individual basis, be it over days, weeks, or months, which is crucial for enhancing transparency and efficiency. The ability to efficiently manage financial records has opened new avenues for improving the municipal service delivery.
"Previously, we could only access records spanning up to 3 years. However, things have changed. We can now retrieve records dating further back, and all records are readily accessible to our headquarters at the Local Council Board (LCB) in Peshawar. Moreover, FRIMS has significantly eased the workload for our record-keeping staff, enabling them to achieve much more." says Ms. Dur e Shehwar, Assistant Tehsil Officer Regulation, Tehsil Municipal Administrations (TMA) Mardan.
Pakistan and Germany working towards a strengthened local governance system in Pakistan
On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ Pakistan is supporting the local governments to strengthen participatory local governance and make public service delivery more accessible, inclusive, and citizen-centred. With FRIMS now operational in 19 Tehsils across KP, this digital leap has reached even the most remote areas, empowering the local governments and enhancing their ability to provide essential services effectively.
Watch the video below to learn more about how FRIMS is revolutionsing local revenue management in KP.