On the face of it, it might
seem that the system in the country is failing to deliver to the people in general. However, on closer inspection one would find that the reasons for the failure of the system lie more in the tools of implementation rather than the set of laws governing the state. That the prevalent system was successfully used by imperial Britain to subjugate the subcontinental population for more than a century provides testament to the durability, delivery and sustainability of the system. So why has a system of governance, so useful for the running of a prosperous British colony, failed us now?
The simplest of answers would be: it is the people responsible for the smooth running of the system rather than the ‘system’ that has failed us.
Consider, for instance, that the government of Punjab, in a populist move, decided to dole out 30,000 taxis to its citizens (read: workers/voters) in order to shore up its declining political capital in the province. Even though the government had initiated the project to provide job opportunities to university graduates, the scheme ended up accepting applications from matriculate students. The change in educational criteria could be termed a politically motivated move but certainly not illegal. However, there was more to come. Normally, when government entities dole out cars to anyone, even a layman would expect the recipients to have a driver’s licence. For that is why the driving licensing authorities exist — their sole purpose is to ensure that only drivers with proper experience make it out onto the roads.
The government of Punjab, however, believes that discrimination on the basis of not holding a driver’s licence violates the basic human rights of the citizens. So, now the lucky owners of the aforementioned cabs can learn to drive on the job! They are also allowed up to a year after they get their cars to get a license; the state obviously did not want the owners to get into any hassle. Unless the idea of the government was to also create jobs by this on-job training venture for taxi drivers, it serves as a perfect example of reckless use of the system by government individuals.
There is also the case with the motorcycle rickshaws that seemingly float around our cities and towns. These three-wheeled death machines are both imported and manufactured domestically. Even though there may be as many as 50,000 of these in the country, they are an alien specie of vehicle for the Motor Vehicle Ordinance (MVO) — the bible of transporting regulations in the country. In political and administrative circles even the mere mention of the word sends shockwaves. Dangerously illegal though they may be, motorcycle rickshaws cannot be banned because such a move would hurt the vote bank, or so the theory goes. Meanwhile, motorcycle rickshaws claim hundreds of lives every year, add significant amounts of pollutants to the atmosphere and are usually driven by 13-year-olds still far from growing facial hair.
Interestingly, these alien vehicles are manufactured domestically in plants that have been given licences to produce thousands of these death machines: vehicles that have no mention in the MVO, vehicles that are illegal. Since motorcycle rickshaws cannot be assessed for safety standards, their manufacturers have no minimal safety requirements for the end product. Of course, officials both at the federal and provincial levels know about the situation. The federal officials are the ones who issue licences for production facilities. Provincial officials are regularly briefed about the hazardous nature of the transport. The political classes are also aware of the illegality of the trade but, faced with the possibility of losing votes in response to a crackdown, they do what most Pakistanis do — they procrastinate.
Governing a territory, a state, a city or a town is a tough job. Efficient governance systems are not made to make special accommodations regardless of the need or influence. When governing authorities make allowances for a certain section of society, the resulting allowances made by people for themselves are a normal outcome. By implementing the cab scheme with accommodations, the Punjab government, though not losing legal authority, has lost all moral authority to issue challans (fines) to anyone without a licence. In its urgency to accumulate political capital, the government chose to weaken the system.
Administrative concessions made to secure political capital usually lead to greater inefficiencies within the governing system. If governance and decisions associated with it are manufactured in the realm of politics, no system can sustain itself for long. It is only the aspirations of the master that the system fulfils. For imperial Britain, the system delivered railways and waterways but for our politically conscious administrators, it delivers votes on election day.
The writer is a broadcast journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]