“Question: how do you assess who did a good job or not?” “There is the person involved who will insist the job was very well done; has anyone of our revolving finance ministers ever admitted responsibility for the appalling current state of affairs?”
“It’s either the fault of a rival political party…”
“Nah, all recent finance ministers, including the incumbent, are revolvers defined as occupying the position more than once – so ideology ain’t an issue.”
“Hmmmm, I guess we are a country of revolvers.”
“Well, I take exception to that, the heirs are coming forward now and…”
“That does not stop the revolvement.”
“There is no such word.”
“Well, let that be our contribution to the English language today. We gave them lotas though they have yet to use that term for their domestic politics…”
“They don’t have lotas there, they have poodles.”
“So do we, oh, let me count the numbers of poodles in this country…”
“Shush…anyway, going back to revolvement - Zaka Ashraf and the Man Who Shall Remain Nameless have been playing ping pong with the office of the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board…”
“Hey, he is in jail and…”
“Don’t mix gold with drivel – The Man Who Must Remain Nameless is an international figure, while The Man Who Shall Remain…”
“I stand corrected. Anyway, then there are the revolving bureaucrats who have mastered the art of pleasing all – we have Waqar Masud, a bright qualified man, who has been appointed in many a cabinet…”
“Right, but he hasn’t endeared himself to the incumbent finance minister.”
“She is there for a few months, he has been there for decades…but there are no revolvers in our civilian or military establishment though.”
“Nope, but don’t underestimate the focus on institutional memory!”
“That’s a very good thing?”
“Indeed it is, but moderation is the name of the game – without moderation…”
“The danger of treading water surfaces.”
“Don’t know that expression, so will ignore it.”
“Right.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024