Improving governance - II

In part I of this series on improving governance, we outlined the characteristics of good governance and discussed the problems and difficulties that come up in the process of improving governance. In this part II, we propose a package of reforms and initiatives. It is my humble suggestion to political parties to consider incorporating the following in their manifestoes. In the coming days, we will select some of the more important issues and elaborate upon these outline recommendations.
I am proposing the following as my humble suggestions to political parties to consider incorporating the following in their manifestoes. In the coming days, we will select some of the more important issues and elaborate upon those.
Elimination of corruption
1) Elimination of corruption to be the first and foremost objectives; all ills emanate from this mother of ills.
2) Reinstitute justification of assets clause in the NAB Act.
3) Whistle blowers serve a very useful purpose against malpractices and corruption.
Protect whistleblowers in government services under an act of Parliament.
Politics, freedom and democracy
4) Introduce and affirm a Bill of Rights for the citizens.
5) Broaden and strengthen freedom and liberty consistent with morality, decency and religious or ethnic sensitivities; discourage monopoly and tyranny even of the majority
6) Diversify political participation by promoting and legislating the representation of class interests of workers, tillers, crafts and trade, teachers and professions, both in political parties and as well as representative institutions like local bodies and assemblies.
7) Strengthen political parties and the political processes leading towards their institutionalisation. Assist them financially by awarding estates, commercial plots for building income bearing projects including their offices and meeting halls. Possibly, make a Foundation and name it democracy foundation (Bunyad-e-Jamhooriat); launch training programmes for political workers and office-bearers, leaders and representatives.
8) Broaden political participation by including schoolteachers and professors of the public sector in the political process by permitting them.
War and peace
9) International relations should be conducted on the basis of national interest, mutual respect and reciprocity, non-interference, pursuit of peace and fostering of economic and cultural relations especially with neighbours.
10) While support for the oppressed is obligatory on Muslims, the issue can be postponed for better times on Sulah Hadaibia model. The conditions are comparable today.
11) There is, however, a great threat for Pakistan to go down piecemeal (ala Soviet Union and other similar states) under social, political and economic complications and undiluted security agenda. We should introduce a state structure and positioning that builds an economic (social welfare state) based on Islamic principles of social justice in place of a Security State System that thrives on conflict and war; rather focus Jihad against poverty and illiteracy and corruption.
12) Nuclear deterrence to be an active part of the defence policy and not just a background in which conventional forces operate. It is with the active and credible threat of use of nuclear weapons that the adversary can be dissuaded from adventure or planning for it. There should be no shame in the implied barbarism. In fact, it is the only positive fallout of the undeserved image that we have. Adoption of such a posture should enable us to save significantly from the conventional expenditure. Adding for both (nuclear and conventional) simultaneously, as the case currently is, would cripple our economy and our society.
13) There is no winnable war and victory especially in a nuclear age, which has dawned in South Asia. Disguise pursuits must be abandoned with reciprocity. 12) Pursue Kashmir issue on the model and pace ala Hong Kong.
14) Abstain from expensive and naïve military pursuits of Siachen and Kargil.
15) Reduce military expenditure by 25% in the first go and ultimately to 50% of the current level; rightsize the forces and introduce cost consciousness in forces; bring in public oversight and transparency; do away with hidden and indirect military expenditure and declare the true figures.
Economy
16) Build a self-reliant economy utilising the local resources and inputs and focused on poverty alleviation.
17) Balance the budget through collection of due taxes (including agricultural incomes) and reducing military expenditure and eliminating waste in governmental processes.
18) Collect due taxes without excessive taxation; all new capital and industries have been built under a permissive tax regime; but thus far and no more.
19) Reorganise and rejuvenate Planning Commission, modernising and updating its project approval and monitoring processes, possibly expanding its presence at the district level.
20) Cut energy imports by developing local resources such as Thar, Shale gas etc.
21) Reduce interest rates through banking reforms reducing the banks' intermediation charges (difference between average lending rate and the deposit rates).
22) Construction sector has great potential to create demand and generate employment; small infrastructure schemes (through self-help and without contractors and intermediaries) at Tehsil level and urban low-cost housing are to be promoted. Provide public land for housing schemes at attractive projects to construction co-operatives and projects.
23) Economy is always stimulated by consumer demand (in a populous country) more than it can be done through public sector expenditure and investment.
24) Build economic and trade linkages with India irrespective of political problems.
Industry and business
25) Introduce Board of Supervisors for oversight of large corporations in private and public sector
26) Promote cooperatives as a form of business organisation to promote public and larger participation in economic activities by the consumers, workers etc. Selectively convert public sector into cooperatives; e.g. health delivery, R&D institutions etc
27) Promote SMEs by launching high-rise (3-D) industrial estates.
28) Don't take the documentation issue too far so as not too cripple the small businesses.
29) Textile sector deserves support and attention due to its backward and forward linkages, resource base, sector's size and share in employment and export.
30) Engineering sector is a mother industry that produces machines, which in turn produce machines and so on. There is a large export potential. It can help promote self-reliance and self-sufficiency in other sectors. Power producing equipment especially wind turbines and oil drilling rigs should get immediate priority for local production.
Poverty alleviation
31) Introduce land reforms through following actions; a) upper limit on land holding; b) taxation differential on large holdings; c) public purchase of land at reasonable and affordable prices or compelling (legislating) the large landowners to sell excess land to the market in small plots of 2-5 acres; d) encourage land donation (ala Qarz utaro mulk sanwaro!), (wherein women donated their jewellery) to public land provision initiatives; e) allot cultivable wasteland among the landless in small plots of 1 acre, ala India House and garden scheme; and e) encourage and enforce permanent and inalienable settlement of the tillers on the land they till, in large landholdings exceeding 100 acres. Tillers entitlement to be one acre each family.
32) Introduce differential agricultural tax on incomes, discouraging large land holdings above 100 acres.
33) Promote work-at-home especially for women office workers, IT etc
34) Register workers in the informal sector and bring them into the ambit of insurance such as EOBI. Construction workers and household workers to be given priority. Impose Construction workers cess on Cement production to collect imputed EOBI contribution of the employers in the cement downstream industry. We have provided some calculations in this respect elsewhere.
35) Launch urban housing schemes for the poor and the industrial workers on public or subsidised land. Promote house building co-operatives for the poor and the lower middle classes involving loan and saving schemes and credit unions.
36) Expand workers training and institute literacy programmes at Tehsil and district levels.
37) Expand nurses and health workers training programme, protect them from sexual harassment and exploitation widely prevalent in the health system.
38) Revive the old time Ration Shop system (computerised) to funnel food subsidies to the very poor; install these in poor areas.
Government and civil service
39) Introduce public service (bureaucracy) reforms; enforce information act; b) mandatory reporting on websites of material and significant activities; and c) preparation of annual reports and work plans.
40) Introduce specialised rather than general bureaucracy; promote lateral entrants by introducing Senior Executive Service (ala-USA), inducting talent at grade 20 and above, involving a shorter service span of 10-15 years.
41) Seek extra-ordinary powers from the Supreme Court for handling major issues such as corruption, as had been bestowed upon General Musharraf.
42) Revive and strengthen local bodies accommodating the positions of the provincial stakeholders; expand its local courts and dispute resolution functions.
43) Introduce oversight committees for all public institutions, especially at the village or local council levels, schools, police station, land records offices. Classes and professions be represented in such committees and not just powerful political interests.
44) Bring transparency in the Establishment Division's operations by building a board of senior executives, serving and retired, both from private and public sector.
45) Computerise land records and eliminate patwaris' role and machinations.
46) Popularise and institute modern working tools such as e-govt and videoconferencing, the latter having great potential in saving time and money.
47) Remove the gaps and make adjustments that have become necessary after the incorporation of the 18th Amendment.
Energy, water and food security
48) Food, energy and water self-sufficiency is to be the cornerstone of development policy and a principal criterion in resource allocation.
49) Bring competition and transparency in the energy sector; b) fast track Thar coal; c) build an international energy hub at Gwadar, to fuse Iranian and Arab interests and facilities and access to South Asian countries; d) Reform tariff system, doing away with excessive pricing e.g., as in wind power (details in my books).
50) Promote conservation and efficiency in water usage; introduce and popularise drip irrigation. It is a misnomer that all water saving technologies is expensive.
51) Present electricity Crisis is a cash crisis (circular debt) than of generating capacity. The crisis can go away by substantially reducing the circular debt by some form of cash injection. However new debt stock would be created due to the tariff not fully recouping the production cost. Tariff cannot be raised so much as to wipe out the gap completely. The problem is to be solved gradually (in mid-term) by reducing the T7D losses and bringing in cheaper and local energy sources.
52) Gas crisis is however of capacity and resource which can only be solved through developing local and cheaper resources both of gas and coal. All imported energy is very expensive which price cannot be paid by low-income consumer. There is enough gas and coal (Thar). Gas requires impetus on E&P and Thar coal requires fast track approaches. Also hydro resources like Bhasha and others would be comparatively much cheaper.
Education and research
53) Expand education and promote quality, equality and uniformity devoid of class structure and preferences.
54) Double the spending on education and health; focus on primary education rather than Higher education which has already received much preference in recent years. Resources are few; priorities have to be laid out.
55) Close down deadwood R&D institutions, and curb the tendency of establishing paper-shuffling institutions as the case has been over the last decade.
56) Rejuvenate and reorganise the ones that remain after the cleanup. Focus especially on agricultural research.
57) Build linkages between education and R&D institutions.
58) Close down all suspected and questionable research that may be violating international conventions such as biological or chemical weapons.
Natural resources and provincial rights and issues
59) Revisit 18th Amendment from the perspective of centre-provincial co-ordination (concurrent list) on major subjects possibly with provincial domain in implementation. No purported revolution has occurred in the aftermath of 18th amendment and none is in pipeline in near future. Two of the provinces are too underdeveloped to utilise absolute autonomy in a meaningful manner (look at the HEC and drugs control issues; more may be coming; we have gone from one extreme to the other; for details please see my book; Pakistan's development challenges; federalism, governance and security). However autonomy and ownership of natural resources may not be compromised during the revision and reformulation. Constructive and non-exploitative engagement is required in these sectors as well. Only Punjab can develop autonomously, but it does not have natural mineral and energy resources.
60) 12% free electricity to hydro electricity producer country or equivalent as royalty; 25% share on payment at normal price; producing regions (districts) to be paid a share of such income; 100 free units for 10 years (out of the 12% free electricity) to be displaced or disturbed households consequent to the development.
61) Adequate (internationally competitive) royalty rates on mineral extraction and a share in corporate tax; 50% share in other incomes under production sharing arrangements.
62) Adequate priority rights (say 20-25% of the production) in resource usage of the producing province.
Internal politics and issues
63) Eradicate terrorism (regional and religious) through persuasion, dialogue and legal and police action replacing military action. Hunger and deprivation are the biggest alienators. No military campaigns against a whole population; it has never solved any problem. It has always failed and added to estrangement and alienation.
64) Evolve a cultural profile based on consensus bringing together religious and liberal forces.
65) Religious minorities' rights to be respected based on good international practices and within the confines of Islamic injunctions bringing them in national mainstream.
(Concluded)