ARTICLE: This column, for the last couple of weeks or more, has been building arguments to support the view that the key to Pakistan's economic growth is directly correlated with the Laws that are clear, public, fair, enforced and equally applicable to all members of society.
This journey ends today, with the epiphany that the Economy is the least of our problems,
A few years ago, the term JIT might well have been accorded a blank look. The fact that Joint Investigation Team (JIT) is now a norm in Pakistan has multiple connotations, none of which is something to be proud off. Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? Literally translated: who will guard the guards? Why do we need multiple agencies to carry out each and every investigation? Do we not trust any institution individually? How many guards are sufficient to guard the guards? Worse, as I sit down to write this piece, there is a controversy brewing over the JIT reports just released by the Sindh government. Verily, the economy is the least of our problems.
This particular debacle follows on the heels of the Fake Pilot catastrophe, the last thing the ailing national airline needed. On a lighter note, there was a particular snippet doing the rounds on the social media that the PIA's decline was perpetuated by a ban on alcohol on international flights - go figure! Personally, I have always believed that the open sky policy fatally marginalised an airline which in its hey-day was a shining star of the aviation industry. Nonetheless, whether or not washing dirty linen in the open was a good strategy, the fact that successive governments failed to revive the national airline for more than 15 years reaffirms the notion that the economy is the least of our problems.
Just before the fake pilot saga, the government proceeded to fire all 9,000 employees of the Pakistan Steel Mills. In the absence of complete information, it would be unwise to comment on any aspects of this decision; albeit the fact that the State has struggled to find a solution for a Steel Mill for more than 12 years alone suggests that the economy is the least of our problems.
Just before that, the government made public the "Power Scam". According to the Power Sector Inquiry Report, "During the last 13 years, the national kitty faced loss of over Rs 4 trillion due to circular debt and subsidies being given to power producers". Ironically, the power sector is extensively regulated and has been in the limelight for a while as a key area for investment. Without getting into the substance of the report, since unfortunately I have still not perused the report, the mere fact that circular debt has increased to unmanageable proportions despite regulatory and State oversight, reaffirms that the economy is the least of our problems.
Near about this time, the happenings in and around the superior courts, avoiding specifics so as not to be in contempt, were a hot topic on the idiot box, and some of what was spewed, for and against, by the analysts was mind boggling. Contrast this with a news report which appeared in February 2020, "The judicial performance of the top court in the last seven years - from 2013 to 2020 - reveals that pendency of cases has doubled. In 2013, a total of 20,480 cases were pending but the figure has increased to 42,927 cases, showing a rise of more than 100%". This column has previously repeatedly argued that the delay in deciding property cases, coupled with land reforms, is one of the top reasons that the country has been unable to achieve its full economic potential. In this situation, a judiciary in turmoil, if that is the right word, indicates that the economy is the least of our problems.
Let us not forget the sugar commission report - not sure whether there is also a flour commission working on a report or not. Again, I have not yet got around to reading the report. However, from what can be gauged through the noise on the electronic media, right or wrong, it was not a pretty affair; the report apparently, directly or indirectly, implicates everyone involved. As of now, the matter seems to be in a state of limbo, but the scandal, if that is the right word even, further strengthens the view that the economy is the least of our problems.
And then there is the fuel crisis, followed by the fuel price crisis. Undoubtedly, the view that OMCs cannot be expected to sell at a loss has merit. On the other hand, the government has a larger dilemma controlling prices when everyone is out to make a buck in an economy already in a recession. And then look at what has been happening during this pandemic - any medicine or herb identified as a probable remedy immediately disappears from the market and starts selling in the black market at horrendous prices. When the market starts operating like the Wild West, surely the economy is the least of our problems.
The list does not end here - in hindsight, one must sympathise with our current government. The frequency and nature of disasters they have faced is perhaps unprecedented. Someone whilst commenting during a political melee on the social media, which too has become regular feature in an extremely polarised environment, opined that, Away Ka Awa Hi Bigra Hua Hai. If that is even remotely the case, manifestly, the economy is the least of our problems.
Until and unless we seriously focus on police and judicial reforms, thereby ensuring laws that are clear, public, fair, enforced, and equally applicable to all members of society, the economy will remain the least of our problems.
(The writer is a chartered accountant based in Islamabad. Email: [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are personal. The views are not necessarily those of the newspaper)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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