One does not know whether to laugh, cry or just sympathise with Senator Raza Rabbani for his ludicrously daft utterances. The other day, as a true disciple of Marx and Lenin, while speaking on the floor of the house, lamenting the free market economy, the Senator had the audacity to assert that the global drive to privatise public sector entities and organisations, has been a big failure.
On the contrary, the process of privatisation has been a huge success globally whereby cash-strapped nations confronted with wide-scale corruption within their respective public sector organisations, mounting liabilities and mismanagement, were able to get rid of the huge financial burden, subsidies and massive losses. Pakistan is an exception, due to a huge and uncontrollable circular debt created by these incompetently-run and financially mismanaged public sector organisations, given in the hands of crooked and inept cronies to swindle the national exchequer, bone dry, thanks to individuals such as Senator Rabbani, the disoriented champions of untenable, unsustainable doctrines of socialism, regulated economy, regimentation and state control period.
We, in Pakistan, are too familiar with the "money guzzler" public sector white elephants such as the Pakistan Steel Mills, PIA, PSO, the natural gas distribution companies, Wapda and rest of the public sector unproductive, unprofitable and utterly mismanaged units. Is this the job of a government to run an airline, oil marketing and distribution company, be involved in petroleum exploration and production and make steel billets? Most certainly, not. Sadly, public sector organisations in Pakistan have been turned into 'employment' agencies to reward and accommodate ruling government's lackeys and cronies.
If Senator Rabbani is so much against privatisation and supportive of public sector organisations, let him come forward, take charge of PIA, Pakistan Steel Mills, PSO, Wapda, Pakistan Railways and the gas distribution companies, take them out of the current financial, operational crises, get rid of the circular debt and make them productive, efficient and profit-making entities!
Rhetorical verbosity is not an answer to addressing financial woes, matters of insolvency, issues of liquidity, rampant corruption and mismanagement in public sector organisations. The core responsibility and primary job of a government is to govern effectively for the good of the people and this is the area, where Senator Rabbani should contribute, concentrate and focus his attention.