'Devolution incomplete if it doesn't take place at UC level': management expert Mumtaz Saeed's book launched

"Devolution is incomplete if it doesn't take place at the Union Council level," said Dr Ishrat Husain, Dean and Director of IBA and former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan. Dr Ishrat Husain was speaking at the launching of the book Permanent Revolution: Managing for Deliverable Democracy by internationally renowned management expert Syed Mumtaz Saeed (late) at a well-attended ceremony at the Arts Council Karachi.
The book's theme is that the application of the management techniques from the private sector for delivering public services by the government can help our democracy deliver. In this way, better management can lead to what Syed Mumtaz Saeed calls 'deliverable democracy'.
Former federal minister for Housing Safwanullah asked, "Why the rich man gets to run in elections to solve the poor man's problem such as public transport, housing, water, etc, about which the rich man knows nothing." Syed Mumtaz Saeed wrote extensively on the links between democratic ideals and the management of public and private sector institutions. Throughout his career, Saeed trained executives at multinational corporations as well as Pakistani businesses. As a reputable management consultant (1999-2005), he advised major public sector institutions such as the SBP, the Central Bank of Bangladesh, and Pakistan Security Printing Press. In 2005, he was requested to become the founding Chairman of the Board of the pioneering Tameer Microfinance Bank which he chaired till 2008.
The event was also addressed by political economy and social policy expert Haris Gazdar who posed three questions about the issues highlighted in the book: what blocks the agenda for reform in our politics, why dictatorship has a constituency among our intellectual elites, and why the management elite of Pakistan does not have an overt commitment to democracy.
As a practitioner of management, Syed Mumtaz Saeed served as an executive of Pakistan's largest bank, the National Bank of Pakistan (1977-96) where he rose to the top of the institution. He was the founding director of the Hamdard Institute of Management Sciences at Hamdard University Karachi (1996-99).
Saeed had a lasting association with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at Karachi, where he taught (1964-67 and 1971-77) and served on the academic board (1974-76 and 2002-08). In July 2009, the IBA established the IBA-Syed Mumtaz Saeed Scholarship Fund for students who show the potential to fulfil Saeed's vision of a well-rounded executive. The vote of thanks was delivered by Chairman and CEO of Burj Capital Zafar Masud who outlined Syed Mumtaz Saeed's personal style and Permanent Revolution is available at Liberty Books.-PR