The Express Tribune Editorial 15 November 2019

Focus on job creation

It has come soon after the announcement by the government of the economy having been stabilised. Prime Minister Imran Khan had said a few days earlier that now the government would be more focused on job creation. At a meeting on Nov 13, he expressed concern over the under-utilisation of funds allocated under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) and emphasised the need for optimal and timely utilisation of those funds. He said this was necessary because PSDP aimed at development with job creation.

The prime minister has taken notice of the under-utilisation of PSDP funds by various ministries and departments and has instructed the Planning Commission to come up with a monthly performance review report so as to identify the reasons behind under-utilisation of funds allocated for vital components of the PSDP. He stressed that timely execution of all the projects was necessary to keep the wheel of the economy moving. It was of utmost importance to eliminate delays in the execution of projects under the PSDP. An amount of Rs71 billion has been allocated under the PSDP for the fiscal year 2019-20. Officials informed the meeting held to review the progress on PSDP schemes that utmost efforts were being made to eliminate delays in authorisation by the Planning Commission to ensure smooth implementation and timely completion of the approved projects. The meeting was briefed on a detailed report prepared to assess the utilisation of the first quarter releases by various ministries and divisions. During the current fiscal year, a total of 17 projects will be completed out which 38 are mega projects. A special monitoring and evaluation set-up is being established at the Planning Commission to ensure completion of all the projects within the timelines. At the meeting, the prime minister repeatedly said orderly completion of the projects would help counter unemployment.

We would like to emphasise that development should not be centred only on those in power. All areas should be treated with justice and equity.

End of ‘Azadi March’

The JUI-F’s Azaadi March has come and gone after less than two weeks, with the party chief now claiming that the protests will spread onto highways nationwide. How much truth there is to that claim remains to be seen. Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s march failed for several reasons. For one, despite having the ability to pull thousands onto the streets through his party’s madrassah network, major opposition parties only offered lip service support to the protest. Fazl’s frequent use, or abuse, of the religion card in the past alienated many of PTI opponents. His party’s anti-women positions cut out any liberal support. There is also criticism of his demands for the prime minister’s resignation and for fresh elections, even though the PTI had made similar demands in 2014.

Fresh elections were always a non-starter, and a PM actually resigning due to opposition political parties protesting would set an undemocratic precedent. The fate of the PM should, ideally, be decided at the ballot box alone. A point must also be made about this trend of long-delayed protests against alleged external interference in elections and various perceived slights. We have seen a few politicians who were willing to take a stand on such issues immediately after the polls closed, or sometimes even earlier. They clearly stood for the integrity of the elections. What we have been seeing on the streets of Islamabad over the last two weeks are those who only protested after realising that they wouldn’t be getting any portion of the pie of power.

Much as independents derided the PTI’s dharnas as only being about the party and perceived slights against it, rather than the country, many would take pause before supporting Fazl, a man whose most famous nickname is synonymous with long-running allegations of corruption against him. In neither case did it really appear as if the demands of the protesters would be met, and the leaders were eventually left looking for exit strategies. The PTI, however, clearly had the more charismatic leader — his supporters stayed put for over four months — while the JUI-F protest ran out of fire in under two weeks.

Promoting merit?

After wrangling with the bureaucracy and red tape for over a year, the federal cabinet recently decided to restructure the board of the body responsible for the development of Islamabad. However, the team sheet for its reconstituted board has raised many eyebrows.

Islamabad was built as a model for the rest of the country in all respects. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) was set up to ensure the development of this manicured city, and it has the mandate to uphold the ideals behind its creation. Ideas may be safe from vulnerabilities, but they are susceptible to the corrosive power of corruption. Over time, the authority has become a festering hub for it. The Islamabad High Court, while hearing a case regarding the construction of the Park Enclave earlier this year, had remarked that corruption in the body had reached to such an extent that it should be abolished.

Hence, it came as a surprise when the federal government decided to include the name of its former chairman Kamran Lashari in the new board. This is a man who has extensive knowledge about the workings of the authority having spent five years at its helm from 2003 to 2008. He is intricately aware of several decisions which have helped give the federal capital its current face. However, he also oversaw one of CDA’s most controversial period.
For one reason or the other, Lashari’s name crops up in almost every major case relating to the CDA. The National Accountability Bureau has filed corruption references against him, so including him in a reconstituted board designed to bring reforms in a corrupted organisation will unnecessarily burden the body.

The PTI came into power with the noble idea of promoting merit, a long-standing cry of those without money and connections. But decisions like these raise questions about the proverbial gulf between precept and practice.