Governance Transformation through Institutional Conversion: From Section 42 Company to Authority

This paper discusses the case of governance change in the Pakistani public sector, through the institutional conversion of the Punjab Model Bazaars Management Company (PMBMC) into the Punjab Sahulat Bazaars Authority (PSBA). Being the oldest government welfare organization in Pakistan to have ever got Section 42 company transformed into a statutory body, PSBA provides a template of how legal empowerment, strategic leadership and operational innovation can create a sustainable and subsidy-free provision of public services. With a qualitative documentary case-study approach the study has triangulated evidence in the form of legislative acts, government records, independent audits, prices data, and media accounts on the legal, financial, and operational performance of PSBA. With the strategic management of Naveed Rafaqat Ahmad, PSBA launched price relief to up to 35% below the market rates through decentralized bazaars, mobile delivery systems, solar-powered markets, real-time digital price boards and women-inclusive vendor policies. The results suggest PSBA as a clear, citizen-focused, and legalized model, which provides a model that could be replicated by other developing economies to reform their institutions and introduce new governance practices.