Those who watch TV talk shows are amazed at the wisdom of PPP spokespersons: when questioned about the alleged mis-governance by their colleagues, instead of addressing the issue, they cite instances of similar failures of the parliamentarians in earlier regimes. None of them notices that people have had enough of this deceptive self-protective logic.
Admitting errors, that manifests responsibility and integrity, was never the hallmark of our politicians. That's why, by pointing to specific instances of mis-governance, Transparency International's Pakistan chapter (TIP) has annoyed our parliamentarians; Sindh Assembly wants TIP's accountability for its latest disclosures about corruption in Pakistan.
The other target is Karachi's Citizen Police Liaison Committee (CPLC). Sindh's Home Minister recently blamed the Chairman, CPLC, for "politicising" the CPLC by toeing the line of a particular political party although, in reality, the Chairman had pointed to the incapacity and, at times, partisan attitude of the law enforcers.
In the World Bank (WB) report on 'Doing Business - 2010', Pakistan slipped to the 83rd spot against 75th in 2009 reflecting higher governance failures. Pakistan's ranking fell in 8 out of 9 categories. The only category wherein it rose by one notch was judicial activism while under 'starting a business', it slipped by 16 notches. Let us see how our parliamentarians question the WB ranking.
No matter how our parliamentarians feel about it, the world is now bent upon containing corruption. A clear sign thereof is the latest advice to Pakistan on checking corruption. The WB too has begun third-party review and verification of where do the WB funds go. In 2010 alone, the WB banned 45 contractors found guilty of bribery in bidding for and securing WB contracts - a practice we refuse to adopt.
The WB has launched its Corruption Hunter Network - an outfit designed by former Nigerian finance minister Ms Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who is now one of the WB directors. Working behind the scene with the Swiss and Haitian governments, this outfit is trying to recover the WB assets "stolen" by the former Haitian president nick-named "Baby Doc."
Though just a beginning, the trend is gathering pace. It is time politicians and state administrators took note thereof, but the likes of Konrad Hummler, head of Swiss Private Bankers' Association, still offer the corrupt some hope. According to him, "there are reasons why someone wants to hide his belongings from his home country...but there is no reason not to pay taxes."
Tragically, the Swiss government is being misled by this flawed logic, and is trying to negotiate with Britain and Germany (and others who agree) to an arrangement whereby Switzerland will collect taxes on their behalf without exposing those who stashed some $2 trillion worth of black wealth in Swiss banks. How the British and German parliaments respond to this offer could set a trend.
According to Hummler, these deals would ensure tax recovery without forcing banks to commit "treachery" with their clients. What he doesn't fault is the corrupt and non-patriotic character of such depositors that he wants the Swiss government to defend. This shows the power of money, no matter how it is accumulated and the flawed values today's bankers pursue.
Further proof thereof was provided by bankers elsewhere. According to The Economist, analysts at Citigroup reckon that Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and Credit Swiss (CS) now account for just 15 percent of the global 'offshore' assets - a substantial drop - implying thereby that the remaining 85 percent, or over $11.3 trillion, is now lying in banks of other countries considered less crime-friendly.
In December 2009, head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime admitted that huge piles of drug money had kept the world's financial system afloat when it appeared close to collapse. This was a hint about some banks accepting proceeds of organised crime - a staggering $352bn alone therein accounting for global proceeds of drug smuggling.
Pressure mounted on Swiss banks after 1995 when the World Jewish Congress forced them to repay the money belonging to the Jews who were killed in concentration camps during World War II, and subsequently by the US for disclosing owners of laundered US funds laying in UBS. It is time similar pressures were applied on banks of other countries to hand over the "stolen assets" in their possession.
Given the financial miseries of governments everywhere (in case of Pakistan recently revealed by its Secretary Finance), the existing tax heavens will have to give in, and black wealth could be retrieved - a reality that our regime refuses to accept for understandable reasons. If the high and mighty of the country stand to lose as a result thereof, why should Pakistan join this good cause.
That pressure for retrieving stolen wealth is mounting is proved by the fact that Switzerland is worried about the future of its banks to a point where it is beefing up their equities, which will now form 10 to13 percent of the risk-weighted values of assets, and another 6 to 9 percent thereof will be held in convertible capital. Drop in Swiss banks' liquidity after being forced to repay tainted deposits, could seriously weaken them.
Despite global strengthening of checks on corruption, covert attempts at limiting the reach of the National Accountability Bureau, and dithering over passing the promised legislation on accountability reflect our opposite thinking. These attempts reflect negatively on the parliament's repeatedly voiced legislative supremacy courtesy its ownership of the "peoples' mandate."
Indeed an elected parliament holds the peoples' mandate but only for doing the right not the wrong things. As of now, it appears that the combined efforts of the frustrated electorate, judiciary, and the media have failed to instil this reality into the minds of our parliamentarians. If this frustration escalates instead of scaling down, the sitting parliament and democracy-lovers will be to blame.
The "third option" that the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly hinted at, is wishful thinking. By now, people know too well how the "friendly" opposition helped materialise the present state of affairs. Hoping that a change in the PM House alone will cool the peoples' temper reflects parliamentarians' wish to survive despite being clever by half. The parliament has lost its credibility; it is time for a complete change.
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