The GoP takes a special pride in the present export level of $12 billion; which according to pundits needs to be doubled in the near future. This being so because any figure less than $25 billion would not be able to sustain the ever-growing import bill and the current and future developmental needs of the country. The question that readily comes to mind is as to what could inhibit the chances of reaching this figure.
Besides a host of factors, the most important could be the standard of our exports, which can be maintained by following as many as seven requirements viz, the international law, conformation to the exact requirements set forth by the importers, conformity to the laws in vogue in the importing countries, the ability to sustain the environments of the end-user, be in line with the times-through adaptive re-use in case of ethnic or eastern/Pakistan specific goods, the ability to quickly change spots (through a set system of R&D in the export industry) and lastly possessing the resolve (including the needed set-up) to add value to goods being produced for export.
All these seven attributes, according to Western experts, are easily achievable through the introduction of certain standards to our industry, including the service industry. These standards have now been formalised through the ISO or the International Organisation for Standardisation.
The ISO is a world-wide federation of national standards. The ISO requires its technical committees to prepare international standards, so as to make it truly representative, each member body has the right of representation to the committee established for formulating a particular standard to which it has some interest.
International organisations, governmental and even NGOs, in liaison with the ISO, can also take part in the work of firstly drafting and thereafter formulating standards. ISO very closely collaborates with venerable and long established bodies like the IEC (International Electro-mechanical Commission) on all matters pertaining to electro-mechanical standardisation and similar is the case of other such bodies.
As a consequence, we see that ISO in fact buffets the already existing standards or standards-giving bodies in vogue. A deep insight leads us to conclude that ISO basically assures quality management and actually includes quality assurance of products and an enhanced customer satisfaction as its end goal. Its latest version goes a step forward and also requires confirmation to environmental and safety standards (Searle Pakistan Limited has just qualified for the OHSAS 18001, which indeed is a big achievement).
All this is thought to be necessary because of the vision and requirement of global uniformity. And whenever one may say, attainment of global uniformity is a must if countries like Pakistan have to have any impact at all. The exports would necessarily depend on assurances to the world that the product being touted has been built or produced while keeping the international standards in view.
All this would also be important because both the exporters and the importers would be speaking the same language-indeed a must in these modern times.
The antagonists, on the other hand, are equally vocal in their detractions that international standards are but a ploy to keep the under-developed and the developing nations perpetually in check and also a prisoner to the requirements of the West or the developed nations.
They would also liken the ISO edicts to the famous rug-marks and the wool marks etc, which to them were barricades to improvements in export levels of many a third world economy.
Dilating on the antagonists viewpoint, there is a need for us to venture back in time to 1990s when John Williamson, a known apologist for the IMF, in one of his essays referred to the lowest common denominator of policy advice being propagated by the IMF and the WB for Latin American countries in late 1980s to the effect that they must have fiscal discipline, introduce tax reforms to improve upon the tax base, end any subsidies in vogue, arrange for a competitive exchange rate, liberalise trade, take up privatisation, deregulate things so as to arrange abolishing of barriers to entry or exit for foreign investment and lastly ensure protection of IPRs (Intellectual Property Rights).
The above policy advice was named as the Washington Consensus, which is presently servicing countries like Pakistan in an augmental form and thus now includes introduction of something known as the corporate governance, flexible labour markets, WTO, agreements, financial codes and standards and a targeted poverty reduction.
All the above, according to the antagonists is USA's concurrence or dictates, in policies that IMF and the WB impose on poor countries apparently to lift their economies out of crisis but actually bringing, in the process, more misery to their people.
The detractors also opine that the West would keep on coming with new ways and means to counter the growing influence of the developing world and that these standards are but a ploy to contain the emerging industrial edifices.
Some also opine that all this is being undertaken in order to help interface the exports with the Western end-user and implement standards surely international in nature, thus becomes the corner stone of the Washington Consensus.
Unbiased and independent thought to the issue would suggest that indeed both the protagonists and the antagonists have some merit in their respective cases. And actually the twain may meet somewhere in the middle.
This, however, is for the experts to identify and then have the same implemented. But this thesis of accepting the standards in a qualified manner does not place any bar on actual implementation of the same and thus, whatever may happen, a serious effort needs to be undertaken to do so.
The requirement to implement international standards in Pakistan was felt somewhere in the late 1980s and it all started from the export oriented production units of Sialkot. Actually adoption of this novel idea was then considered an edge over the others; a thoroughly local or indigenous notion, this being so because the ISO edicts were not considered as a requirement for any entity to graduate from the family-owned status to something of a corporate structure.
It thereafter took a full decade for our entrepreneur (of both the private and the public variation) to understand and comprehend the necessity of adherence to the standards. However, like always and specially so in an unregulated environment, things began to sour right from the start. Instead of being fully convinced about the need and implementation of standards, short cuts were made, certifications arranged and the same misused at will.
As a consequence, the fruits likely to accrue out of these standards have simply eluded us. And then certification too was a perfunctory task at best, which has rather watered down to a very low-level at present.
What exactly are the reasons for failure of ISO standards in Pakistan. This question needs to be answered in detail with an allied effort to list the measures to be taken up in order to really implement the same.
Luckily, insight into the issue leads us swiftly to the answers which is being explained.
The reason for the failure would be divided into four specific areas viz, the governmental, the social, the financial and lastly the technical ones. Forays into each of these areas would reveal that all contribute negatively but strangely in the order enumerated as above. As a consequence, we see that the government itself (of all hues and colours) is the main culprit or hindrance in the implementation of international standards in Pakistan.
Thereafter comes the social factor; including the various cultural, ethnological and historical issues, which contribute negatively. Both the governmental and social factors are then followed by the financial and the technical facets or inhibiting factors.
It would be important to mention that technical issues remain the least of the problems-indeed a situation to be proud of. All this is also due to the technical resource of the country. It, probably, is also the reason why the Pakistani technical re-source is venerated all over the world.
What obligations need to be discharged by the government. This question can be aptly answered if we understand what exactly are the duties of the government and what is being done at present as regards implementation of international standards in our country. Dilating on the issue further, we see that governments in the easiest of terms are political systems by which a nation or community is administered or regulated.
These edifices have many duties and obligations, having legal structures, a policing system, systems to oversee fiscal and administrative operations, a detailed social welfare set-up etc and a contraption to gauge public opinion. Another issue that crops up, though unconnected to this study, is whether the government exists for the public good or for the self-interest of the governors. Going a little further, we see that the actual governmental functions depend upon the combination of consent of the people or the public and constraint.
From the above it transpires that regulation becomes the main responsibilities of the government and in the instant context lackluster regulation becomes the main reason for failure of implementation of international standards in Pakistan.
We see that GoP stands bereft of a cogent and clear-cut policy regarding the subject matter and thus all ministries and divisions are left to fend for themselves or to conjure up the policies at their own.
These formulated policies thus lack substance, are full of borrowed terms, out of context with the ground realities, specially in the local scenario, and instead of laying down how things should be done to facilitate quick and undiluted implementation of the standards, the policies detail what should be done and lastly no measures have been spelt out whereby the policies may be implemented.
On the other hand experts opine that the most important Ministry of Science and Technology and the PNAC (Pakistan National Accreditation Council) are unable to perform their respective duties - so much so that this Ministry presently allows all types of bodies (having a semblance of internationalism to it) to issue certification for ISO 9000.
Actually, anyone can register after a deposit of a sum of Rs 10,000 only and then proceed freely to certify a company, institution, entity, establishment and that too without any check etc. In fact the Ministry has no methodology to regulate or even cross check the working of these certification bodies.
This free for all added up with the below-par registration in the first place is thus a sure shot recipe for disaster and ample exhortation for the 35 or so certification bodies to do whatever pleases them.
It is further seen that the GoP does not offer any incentive to standardised entities and in a way all and sundry are treated alike. As there is no special incentive to get actual certification, it is seen that the Pakistan entrepreneur does not feel any necessity to improve upon itself, which is leading towards great losses and surely a stunted export level in the coming future.
On the other hand, historically it is seen that acceptance and implementation thereafter of an international or supra-national edict depends upon firstly the acceptance of something akin which is home-grown. As Pakistani standards giving agencies are few and that too feckless to the best, direct acceptance of the international standards becomes nearly impossible.
The PQSA (Pakistan Quality Assurance and Standards Authority), a precursor of the erstwhile PSI (Pakistan Standards Institute), is at a very nascent stage and in no position at all to enforce its writ, a reason for the free-for-all.
However, to some it is fine because regulation for most Pakistani civil servants is policing which is abhorrent and a cause for more problems than solutions. Inherently, regulations in Pakistan are indeed a way to enrich those responsible for governance.
Another issue that needs attention is the type of persons deputed to enforce regulations, register different certification agencies, to cross-check the certification processes in the field and to place the needed checks and balances in case of misuse etc.
We see that these are mostly non-professionals with no or very less understanding of the issues of standards and implementation thereof. This is more so and most evident in the case of the Ministry of Science and Technology and the PNAC (Pakistan National Accreditation Council). Alongside this mammoth shortcoming is the non-availability of cost control methodology for the certification bodies, because of which substandard certification is being carried out.
This activity is carried on through bad and below-par audit, inappropriate advice and a lacklusture follow-up on the part of the certification bodies.
Once the governmental causes have been discussed, it would be appropriate to come to the social factors. This encompasses a whole subject matter inclusive of the present sociological makeup of the country and also the prevalent culture of making shortcuts.
The most selfish and contrited attitude of the private sector would also come under attack. Similarly, the cultural drag which weans our society away from merit is another issue which would be discussed. Lack of discipline is also serious and is bound to have deep effect on all issues and specially on implementation of any system which even tries to regulate us.
FFCL's recent certification of ISO 14001:1996 for environmental management system at its Goth Machai plants is an apt example, specially so when these standards are hard to achieve and that too for the fertiliser industry. It seems that it was the military resolve of the Fauji Foundation's higher management that did the job. As to whether the ISO standards would ever be accepted at the Foundation itself is another story.
Dilating on the issue, we see that the present social structures are patriarchal in basic makeup and thus tend to a very dictatorial and one man way of decision-making. As today is the age of specialisation, non-acceptance of the professional advice has led to great losses and has also resulted in a stunted private sector, moreover this surely inhibits the implementation of any form of standards; be those national or international.
The second of the social factors is our penchant for shortcuts and an undue cutting of corners. Actually, it is a foregone conclusion for us that everything gets condoned if one has the right connections, moreover the profitable end justifies the means. As standards in fact narrow down the availability of options, it all is against our psyche of authoritarian decision-making and petty savings.
Also of importance is the unfettered and totally non-regulated private sector operations in Pakistan. Standards, while disciplining the entity under scrutiny, also arrange for the upholding of rights of the end user. This is a new concept, at least for the Pakistani entrepreneur and even for the newly somewhat awake public sector which too desires, in accordance with the current fashions, to have the epithet of certification on its letter-head.
The fourth of the facets is the deep entrenched cultural ethos which allows premium to family ties, tribal links, ethnic and linguistic fraternity and connections over merit. In other words as the whole world, at least for us, revolves around the power structures in vogue anything contrary is hard to accept.
Moreover, disregard of the law seems to have become a second nature in the country and which is evident in and around us. It is also the reason for the lack of substance and spirit in whatever implementation of standards we see around us in Pakistan.
After this come the financial factors which for many an aspiring organisation is the main reason for non-implementation of the standards. Finance in Pakistan is hard to come by and remains so even in the present low-interest era. Money can be spent on new production lines and even on luxury items but is elusive to projects whereby systems are proposed to be improved upon.
Similarly, works which are intrinsic in makeup, even if having great potential for the future, would not find much favour with us. At the same time hoping that the private entrepreneur would very soon start pumping moneys, in order to conform to and implement standards, would be living in a fool's paradise.
He would do it, but at a small-scale which may not be enough to change the status quo - at least in the near future. Similarly, profitability in Pakistan is at a much lower scale which cannot foot the bill for a change. Another allied issue is the sterile Chambers of Commerce and Industry - in fact something akin to Clubs or even fiefdoms.
These associations, instead of adding to the available expertise, are edifices of divide and instability - another off-shoot of the style of tribal culture prevalent in our country.
Coming to the last of the causes viz, the technical ones, it is seen that we are ill-prepared to meet the challenges of today. The available expertise is low- tech and out of sync with the requirements. Although grooming of Pakistani HR should be the sole goal of educational institutions, the situation is otherwise and strategies that are ever directed towards attaining this goal lack substance as well as quality.
The obsolete curriculums are thus producing graduates. who are simply devoid of the needed skills. This, in presence of an enviable technical re-source, is indeed sad and a reminder for us to do something quick.
What needs to be done is a question that merits answers. Simply stating, the government(s) would have to understand that standards are important and implementation of the same cannot ever be ignored or left to itself It has to be accepted that non-implementation is having a most negative impact on our image, the actual exports and the future.
Once the governments are through with the acceptance part, the logical sequel then would to update the policies etc and resolve seriously to tackle the issue. The regulatory role would thereafter need to be taken up in earnest.
This, however, cannot ever be undertaken without induction of the professional for the job with the recognition that the generalist would not be able to deliver anymore.
Taking a leaf out of the post-World War II Japan and Korea of the early 1960s and onwards, a most necessary government-business alliance would need to be built up with the media playing as a cheer-leader.
Here China is an apt example where improvements in quality of finished goods and products have manifested during the last five years as a result of governmental edict. And once the government (an engine of growth in Pakistan and also the major opinion maker) starts doing its bit, hopefully the social and cultural obstructions to accepting implementation of standards as a must would dissipate at a very fast pace.
However, the effort would have to be at a sustained level and through the recognition that implementation of standards is in our national interest.
Coming to the inadequacies on the financial and technical sides, the solution lies in the public banking system coming up with interest-free loans and introduction of a high level of rebate against the same in case of successful implementation of the standards by any entity.
This would not be a loss for the national exchequer, because it all would lead to higher tax revenues for the government through value-added exports and a much greater growth of manufacturing and the service industry. The technical issues can be cleared through holding of a dialogue between the academia and the industry and a similar exercise between universities and the large Pakistani public sector, in conjunction with all stakeholders which include the various ministries and organisations like CBR, EPB etc.
Consequently upon the results of the aforementioned dialogue, new syllabi would emerge which all would reflect the needs of the day. As Pakistan possesses a naturally high level of technical resource, upgradation of the same is expected to be quick and sooner than what anyone can expect.
Pakistan is a large country with an even larger potential for exports etc. However, improving up on the present level and then goading it in the desired direction through apt management of the various variables are of utmost importance.
This all, on the other hand, cannot be done without recognising facts, taking up the needed positions, understanding the requirements and then coming up with solutions to the various problems. Additionally, it is also a fact that WTO requires conformation to international standards at the peril of losing export business, which should be enough for us to tighten our belts at long last.
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