If they were handing out awards for ad hocism, Pakistani governments, present and past, would have surely bagged the top award.
Have any doubts? Consider this: after deliberating nearly six months on a proposal to increase the allowed year-limit for used-car imports, the government quickly rolled back its decision to the previously allowed limit of three years. Now, it is again considering opening the import of five-year old used-cars.
Without getting into the debate of which of the policy measure is currently suitable for the auto sector and for overall macroeconomic dynamics, the volleying of policy decisions can put off any businessman, local or foreign.
"The unpredictability of government policies naturally forces economic actors to think in the short term....the lead has to be taken by the government by giving a long-term sustainable direction," State Bank Governor, Shahid Kardar, said in interview to BR Research last month.
A multitude of factors works behind this ad hocism.
One for instance, is political cronyism. In an effort to secure its vote bank, and to ensure the support of its coalition partners, the governments go about making decisions - like the recent reversal of fuel price hike - that are ridiculed by experts at home and abroad, for the burden it will add on the governments exchequer.
Another factor behind ad hocism is nepotism, as different lobby groups from different business sectors vie to become the apples eye of the government. The government in return, takes one decision one year to support one group, and takes an entirely different one, the year after. The governments response to the cotton yarn row last year falls in this category.
Other examples of how lobbyism results in wrong policies, is the previous regimes decision to allow CNG consumption for transportation, whereas the state of gas shortage was well-known at that point in time.
Aside from these isms, there is another factor fuelling the ad hoc culture in government affairs: its the lack of uniformity of voice, which shows a lack of consensus of views on top economic issues.
For instance, addressing a ceremony at the National School of Public Policy this week, PM Gilani said that the economy is being revived with the help of supportive monetary and fiscal policies, adding that economic indicators are promising.
God only knows how or why does the premier deem the decline in LSM, double-digit inflation, and fiscal worries as promising, but only a day after PMF Gilani said all is good, FBR chief, Salman Siddique, informed an assembly of businessmen in Karachi, and aptly so, that the country is in a state of "financial emergency". This shows that government officials are hardly on the same page.
And perhaps factually incorrect faux pas like these could have been avoided had there been better coordination amongst the governance actors.
Even within a single department like FBR, there have been reports of absence of coordination. Reportedly, according to a recent World Bank review mission, "there are no apparent consequences if instructions from the headquarters are not followed by field staff", and that there is lack of co-ordination amongst various FBR Members.
And to top it all off, the opaqueness of different government ministries and departments - such as the finance ministry, power ministry, and the various public sector entities, including the likes of Wapda, makes this ad hocism appear fishier than it perhaps is.
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